


A Pixie for the Mellark Children

by Alliswell



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Canonical Child Abuse, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 19:25:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 78,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4491789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alliswell/pseuds/Alliswell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"My darlin' boy..." Said the Pixie called Katniss to 12 year old Peeta Mellark "You, I love the most, if you, or any other Mellark child should ever ask me to stay, I will." </p><p>But it was years later, when Peeta was much too old to believe in Pixies, that the fragile voice of a female Mellark child asked the question to the pixie, "Will you stay with me?" To which Katniss decidedly whispered "Always"</p><p>I was having a bad weekend, I needed something nice to wrapped my mind around and this is the result. Unbetead. More tags will be added as the story progresses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Pixie and the Boy with the Bread

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The Hunger Games and the Characters within the story belong to the talented Suzanne Collins. Nothing is mine, not even the concept of Pixies. 
> 
> This has not been blessed by a betas touch, so it will be riddled with mistakes and typos, which are all mine.

 

It's a bright summer day in the high moorland areas around Devon, England, and three American boys on vacation, all with similar ashy blond wavy hair and matching forget-me-not blue eyes, raging from ages 6 to 10, play near a middle size menhir erected scarcely 300 yards from the cottage of their grand aunt Mags.

"If there are any pixies here... Please come out and play with us" The second oldest boy said loudly scarcely 3 feet away from the stone pillar, he stood with legs spread apart and feet firmly planted on the moss covered ground and hands fisted on each side of his hips, resembling a gangly, blond Peter Pan.

The other two boys stood by peering into the rocks ahead, waiting for a response that never came; the wind blew swift, bending the tall grasses around the open land before them, but still, the menhir was quiet and undisturbed.

"Boys! Dinner!" Called their father with a bright smile on his face. The three boys forget their previous objective and rush to meet their dad while playfully shoving each other out of their way, "boys will be boys." The father says shaking his head amusedly as he watches his three children approach with much boyish laughter. Theirs, is a happy family, which is all the father has ever wanted for them.

To promote this happiness, the parents of the boys have started traditions to create loving memories for the later years. One of the things that has become tradition for the Mellarks, a family of five, is to travel every year for one week of the summer from their home in Panem, North Carolina in the USA, to the beautiful countryside of England, where their maternal family has lived for many generations... But as the years had gone by, most the English relatives have relocated to other parts of Great Britain and Europe, so they're currently scattered all about, which is perfectly alright, since the boys have an absolute favorite place to visit, Auntie Mags cottage in Devon.

The boys like her place best, because every evening, right after their supper has been ingested, she takes a seat on her worn recliner chair and invites the children to sit at her feet with cups of rich hot chocolate and delicious biscuits to be dipped in the creamy concoction, she then regales them with her stories about fantastical adventures and epic wars between pixies and fairies and trolls; the woman in her early 60's is a wealth of pixie lore, she usually has hundreds of stories at the tip of her tongue waiting for her grand nephews to ask for them.

The stories tend to originate in the menhirs surrounding her cottage; menhirs are tall stones standing upright that according to aunt Mags were left there by the Druids of old, it is unclear what their purpose was originally, but auntie Mags swears that pixies, fairies and other mythical creatures moved right in once the humans abandoned the monuments and went elsewhere.

Aunt Mags has explained the difference between each supernatural creature, Trolls for example, are rarely helpful to humans and prefer to live their lives in family groups in caves or around rocky mountains where they can blend easily with their backgrounds as they appear to be made of rocks themselves, then come the Fairies, although beautiful in appearance with their fair complexions and winged backs, are to be treated with respect because they tend to be a cranky bunch who is usually unfriendly to humans that step too close to their territories, aunt Mags stresses the importance to always wear something made of iron or charms of Rowan when dealing with fairies, they're afraid of those materials and will keep at bay if one has them on for protection. But, it's the Pixies, the children like the most, mischievous creatures with skin tinted all sorts of blue hues, they can take the hight of a human at will and will help those in need if they're nice enough to pixies first, but they can also be very mean if the occasion calls for it, if a small child is being bully by a big brother the pixies will pull the bully by the ears and drag them to their mother for a well deserved spanking! Most pixies are wingless, except for their royalty, because just like that the british, the pixies have a Queen.

After the food had been inhaled that evening, and the dishes washed and put away, the three boys hopped and skipped and giggled as they found their way on their hineys on the mushy rug beneath auntie Mags chair, waiting for the old storyteller to sit with her accustom cup of hot chocolate and plate piled high with shortbread cookies their father had made earlier.

"What's it going to be tonight, boys?" Asked aunt Mags with a smile as she sat with a contented sigh.

"Well..." Posed the eldest boy, lips puckered up to one side of his face bright blue eyes looking up in the same directions his lips pointed at, but not really seeing anything in particular, he raked his ten year old brain in search of the right words to formulate his question. Finally after a minute or so, his expression shifted, and his eyes flew to meet the ones of his great aunt. "We went up to the menhir thing today, auntie Mags... Rye called out to see if there were any pixies there, but nothin' happened. Are you sure there are colonies of pixies there?"

"Ah!" Said aunt Mags knowingly. "So what you all want tonight is to learn about the proper way to meeting the pixies, then?" All three boys nodded enthusiastically, with cheeks stuffed with shortbread cookies and crumbs dislodging from their faces as they moved closer to their aunt, Lord forbids they would miss a word of the important instructions they needed to follow to achieve their goal.

"Very well, then... So, it us said that in The Manual to Successfully Meet Pixies, that to introduce oneself to a colony, you cannot present yourselves with empty hands!" Said the women raising and eyebrow as she explained.

"Well, what can we bring?" Asked the one named Rye.

"Ooh! How about we bring them momma's old coin purse? The one she just threw out!" Asked the oldest brother with excitement.

"No...! That'll be stupid Billy... Pixies don't have money!" Said Rye exasperatedly.

"Um... Do they like shortbread? Maybe we can bring them some... They might be hungry..." Said the youngest brother hopefully, out of the three Mellark boys, the youngest one was the sweetest and the most attentive. Aunt Mags smiled at him before Rye once more shut down his idea in a rather harsh tone.

"Peeta! Pixies don't want cookies! They're too tiny to be eating all that sugar... What'd you want, to cause 'em diabetes?" Rye had recently learned that his best friend from school had been diagnosed with youthful  diabetes, and had been obsessively chiding his baker father for feeding him and his siblings fatty foods and too sweet pastries... This had not stopped him from stuffing his face with chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven once or thrice since they arrived to England.

The little boy, Peeta, only managed to downcast his pretty eyes, and mutter a heartfelt "Sorry" while all but throwing back on the plate his half eaten shortbread biscuit. His eyes were filling with tears as his brother continued talking, sharing his own idea.

"K... Since all your ideas stink... We will go with mine!" Rye declared, "We will bring them my bag of Legos, so they can build themselves a house!" He said triumphantly.

"Oh, well... I'm not so sure pixies will fancy living in a house made out of slick, colorful Legos m'boy" at his aunt's response, Rye's face fell and after a second, turned sour. "But... The idea of bringing them a house is a nice one!" She added with a wink. "It just has to be made out of materials you would naturally find around the menhirs, after all, you don't want to make it easy for those pesky trolls to find their dwellings with all those bright colors a Lego house would have"

"Hmmm... I guess I didn't think 'bout that, aunt Mags..." Said Rye crestfallen, "I don't want to cause the pixies any problems"

"I know sweet boy..." Said aunt Mags caressing the boy's cheek. Then she turned on the direction of little Peeta, who had resumed taking tiny bites out of his cookie while looking at his aunt in wonder with those big blue eyes of his. "But, I must say, little Peeta here has a good mind about things as well... Pixies do like biscuits, you know, and unlike humans that can get sick from pretty much anything around them, pixies never get ill! So they can eat as many sweets as they want!" She said with a radiant smile, that reflected that of Peeta exactly.

"Yay! So we can bring them candy and an apartment building made out of twigs and leaves and then we can play with them all day long!!!" Exclaimed Billy, the eldest Mellark brother.

"Well... An apartment building might be too much for mythical creatures, but... You guys can start with a little play ground, don't ya think?" Said their father, from under the threshold to the sitting room the children and aunt Mags were occupying. All three boys turned their blond little heads startled by his voice, but received his presence with smiles and "Hi Daddy"s. The boys took after the baker, a man with soft ashy blond curls that fell on his face when his hair was too long, kind forget-me-not blue eyes, and smile always gracing his handsome, kind face. Because of his line of working, Mr. Mellark was broad shouldered and his arms were thick and strong, he was of medium high built, and could easily lift two 100 lbs sack of flour on each shoulder in his bakery back in America. His children still looked like regular, none muscular kids, in fact little Peeta was a bit on the chubby side, while Rye was gangly and tall for his age. Billy was exactly average high and weight.

"Boys, I think it's time for bed now..." Started Mr. Mellark. The children immediately started a chorus of pleading 'five more minutes' and 'do we have to's. "Your mother and aunt Mags have a busy day planed for us tomorrow, and we want you all up bright and early." Said the man calmly to appeased his children.

"But, Daaaad..." Whined Rye huffing and slumping on his knees on the rug, "We have stuff to do tomorrow... We are bringing gifts to the pixies! Can't momma and aunt Mags go do their plans by themselves?"

"We'll be good... Honest!" Peeta piped up hopefully.

"Sorry boys, you know your mom's the boss while we're here... Now, come on... Up with you three, go brush your teeth and change into PJs and I'll be there in a minute to tuck you all in." Said Mr. Mellark sternly. They boys groaned in protest, and slowly got up from the rug and dragged their feet in sign of discontent, but obeyed all the same.

Once in their beds, after their prayers were whispered and their foreheads were kissed by both their father and mother, and Mags had poked her head in to wished them all a goodnight, sleep took over them, and they dreamed happy dreams, filled with their respective interests, and while they slept a must fascinating thing happened... A pixie looked into the children's bedroom, and ducked under the open window just to curiously peer at the little humans... This event was uncharacteristic and unheard of, and if the boys had been awake they would had been thrilled, this was a much special visit, and the reason the event was particularly remarkable, was that the pixie in their room wasn't just any old pixie, it was the _Princess Pixie_... With her delicate luna-moth wings, she had flown up to the second story of the cozy cottage.

The Princess had been curious since the boys came calling on her colony earlier that day, but, since this children seemed to be happy, well cared for and seemingly untroubled, the Queen had instructed her subjects to remain hidden. Pixies only showed themselves to children in need of help. But, the Princess wanted to see them up close, she was young and adventurous, and quite stubborn as well. So, when the lights in the cottage went out, she decided to pay the children a visit, there was no harm to be done if she only peeked at them while they were asleep. But, the younger boy, turned on his side for reasons unknown and opened his cerulean eyes landing right on the fluttering Princess who hovered closed to his oldest brother's ear.

"Hey!" He gasped. "Don't steal my brother! He's a nice boy, I promise! He always shares his toys with me and never lets Rye beat me up too hard when we wrestle... Please lady fairy... Leave him alone!" Pleaded the young boy sitting straight on his bed, because everybody knows that Fairies are pesky creatures that would steal a young child if they so pleased.

The Princess, very offended by the boy's mistaking her for a fairy, flew in a flash to yell at him right in front of his nose; but she was so little her voice was too small to be captured by the little boy's ears, she sounded like a little cartoon fly would sound on tv, her words were intelligible so he had no idea of what she had said to him. But at this close, he could clearly see her. She had a long thick braid of very dark hair, her skin like every other pixie was some sort of glowing soft blue, and he noticed her clothing was made of brown and cream linen rags, judging by her appearance alone, she was exactly how her aunt had described the pixies, except for the wings, he raked his brain for mention of wings and sat there for a long minute thinking and staring at the little being as she darted angrily from one of his eyes to the other gesturing widely with her tiny arms as she raged at him.

"You are pixie?" Gasped the boy in wonder, this made her stop her movements in midair and stiffened down her arms and legs. She then nodded furiously. "But... You have wings... Pixies are supposed to be wingless..." He reasoned. She started moving her arms frantically as if she was explaining something to him. "Um... Miss pixie, ma'am... I'm sorry to interrupt, but... I can't hear you..." He whispered apologetically. This made the Princess hunch her shoulders, and fluttered downwards to stand on the night stand next to the boy's bed. She paced the worn surface of the table for a moment thinking, then took off flight in a rush to a nearby pamphlet with several thumbnail size pictures of different sights around London Rye had picked it up from a car rental stand that advertised touristic tours around the city. The pixie was excitedly jumping up and down, pointing a wee tiny arm in the direction of the picture of Buckingham Palace, she then stomped a minuscule foot on the corner of the picture, until the boy asked confusedly,

"Are you from the palace?" She moved her head like a pendulum from side to side, signifying that he was more or less closed to her meaning. She looked around and found a picture of a crown down in the pamphlet, and point at it. "Umm... Are you a queen?" He asked excitedly. She shook her head, and paced some more and then shlumped for a moment, the boy felt bad and shyly asked in small voice, "Are you maybe a Princess?" He offered with an earnest glance, and she sprang up and flew around his head once and came to float and inch from his nose while nodding her head excitedly. He could not see all the details of her face, but he thought she might've been smiling. And he chuckled, promptly covering his mouth with his hand, glancing at his brothers who still slept soundly in the bed next to him. After he made sure he hadn't disturbed his brothers' slumber he offered her a soft apology.

"Um... I'm sorry I called you a fairy, ma'am... You are much cooler than a fairy!" He said and she cocked her head in confusion, but there was no way the little boy could know she was confused about the expression "cooler", let alone have the sufficient communication skills to go about explaining its meaning to her, so it was a good thing that he completely missed the inquiring look she was giving him, and went forth to ask her if she liked shortbread cookies, she once more seemed pensive, but she understood "cookies" so she nodded. Then he produced a coocky from inside the pocket of the shorts he had discarded on the floor before changing into sleep clothes, then he promised her he would bring her some more the day after next, when him and his brothers had the chance to go back to her rock. With this understanding, she flew around him one more time, and shoot straight out of the opened window and into the starry night.

 

==================

 

Peeta's brothers didn't believe him when he told them about meeting the Princess Pixie. They teased him incessantly, and told him he had a very big imagination, it took a stern warning from their mother to stop the teasing, but little Peeta was annoyed and disgruntled the rest of the day.

That afternoon, they returned home from visiting some relatives that lived not too far from aunt Mags, and a trip taking the sights of region. It was light enough out, for them to set about collecting the materials they needed to build the playground for the pixies. They had decided that their dad was right... Pixies loved fun things and slides and swings were very fun.

They started their project in the living room, when the sun finally was too low in the sky to see without straining their eyes.

Auntie Mags provided them some sturdy thread and a bottle of glue to tie and affix things together. Soon their mother announced supper, and all building efforts had to be postponed for the next day.

 

===================

 

It took them longer that they had anticipated to finish their gift to the pixies. It had been a family effort too, as everyone helped at one point or another. Mrs. Mellark wasn't the most imaginative person on earth, but she had begrudgingly used her artistic skills to create a card to go with the miniature playground. Mrs. Mellark was a very talented artist, regardless of her disposition to believe that creatures such as pixies could be real, she allowed her aunt tell them stories because she figured it kept the boys away from gaming devices and encourage their imagination as well as their desire to play outside, exploring nature.

With the finished result of a card bearing a picture of a slender winged woman with a long dark braid, brown finery and the luminescent wings of a luna moth sitting on top of a red polka dotted mushroom, above the words: "a Gift for the great Pixie folk, from the brothers Mellark", the boys rushed to the imposing menhir. They had just deposited the card box floor of their twig and grass blade architectonic masterpiece not a foot away from the tall stone that they assumed housed the pixies, Peeta rushed to placed the card with what he hoped was an accurate depiction of his Pixie Princess at the foot of the cardboard floor, and rushed to stand with his brothers at a respectable three feet distance, away from their offering.

Billy took it upon himself to addressed the colony on behalf of his brothers.

"Um... So... We have brought you a super fun playground. For you to play at of course... You can use it whenever you wanna. And if you are ok with it... We would like to watch you play?" He finished pleadingly, his brothers echoing the sentiment passionately. But still, nothing happened. Not even the wind made it's presence known, so the boys returned home with heads hanging low in disappointment.

But, the pixies accepted their gift, after the Queen sent out an inspecting committee. They deemed the structure sound and safe, if a little bit disproportionate in its dimensions, some if the rides were big enough for only the smallest of pixies while others, easily allowed two or three pixies comfortably at a time. They played and laughed and were merry all night long, and the Princess addressed her people saying that if they accepted the present it was only fair to allowed the children see them enjoying it, she was sure the boys would not harm anyone or expose their existence to unwanted humans, but her mother the Queen would only allowed the others to show how they had used the artifacts and possibly leave a gift of thank of their own. The Princess wasn't satisfied, so she once more flew into the boys' bedroom before the sun had come up, she saw the smallest child sleeping and wondered silently how to best leave a message that he could easily understand. The sun was almost already up, and she still had no idea of what to do, but then she saw the left over grass blades and drying dandelion shoots and heads, she saw the twigs and the leaves and a tad bit of green moss, and she thought to herself, if this children could speak to her people through building a park, she thank them accordingly with their own medium... She set out to carry the materials with great effort, because a stick with five millimeter diameter that weights nothing to a child, weights tons for a pixie. It took her a great deal of time, but at the end she hovered above her handy work, admiring the resulting product and she smiled to herself satisfied. She flew out the window, just as the morning dew was setting on the outside world.

They boys awoke to a rendition of sticks and grass of the menhir they just left their mini playground at the previous day. There was, next to it a crude smily face and three little stick people figures, the smallest one had a yellow dandelion for a head! The two older boys were confused and intrigued by it, the little one was convinced it was a message from the pixie Princess saying thank you. The boys rushed out of the house, paying no heed to their mother's breakfast announcement as they cleared through the door. The anticipation of seeing the pixies playing in their creation was too great to wait, but alas, the playground was deserted, not one blue colored creature was spotted on the place, but, there was a small mound of berries, acorns and seeds were the card used to be, the card however was gone. They boys took it for granted that the pixies had accepted their gift, and sometime they would allowed them to come join in their games.

What they were not counting on, was the devastation that the visit from their Cousin Cato would cause to the area surrounding the menhir.

The children were familiar with their third cousin, twice removed Cato Snow, because like them, he lived in the US with his family. His father was a wealthy older man directly related to aunt Mags, who married a pretty girl almost 30 years his junior, no body can't say that romance couldn't thrive were money abound. Cato was a spoiled, nasty little brat, that always got his way if he whined long enough to annoy his father. His mother coddled him and never said no to his every selfish whims.

The Snows came to aunt Mags, while passing through to go elsewhere for their three month long holiday in Europe. Normally the boys groaned and grumbled when they knew they had to play with Cato, which was surprisingly often, as the only good thing Mr. Snow ever did for his son, was to have him spend time with his kin, no matter their difference in social standings. Cato was so mean some times, but the boys had learnt to deal with him over time, this did not mean they were eager to spend whoever long his family's visit to aunt Mags' entertaining the little twerp.

I was and unspoken agreement between the brothers, not to share anything about the pixies with their distant cousin; Cato was exactly the kind of human the little colony hid from after all; what they did not account for, was their mother's ramblings about how her boys had been building tiny playground models and how cute and well built they were, she even went on to talk about how adorable it was that her sons were still young enough to believe in things such as 'fairies'... " _Pixies_ , mother!" Corrected Rye annoyed, but she just waved him off and continued her rant, and to the boys' horror suggested they took Cato out to the menhir to show him the model they built. They had no other choice... And they regretted it dearly right after.

Cato had laughed at them for believing in Pixies, he said it was a stupid concept and right when he was about to say that pixies and fairies did not exist, Rye lunged at him and shoved him to the ground stopping the other boy's words right before they left his mouth.

"Don't say it you idiot! You will kill every last one of them, you stupid knuckle-head!" Screamed Rye in anger. But Cato, although pampered and somewhat soft, was an adept fist fighter, not a stupid one though. He knew going for Rye who was exactly his age was no good, Rye was taller, and Bill was even worse, He was older and a bit stockier, but little Peeta was fair game, so he pushed the smaller Mellark boy, who landed square on their beautiful pixie play area, destroying every last piece of it. The reaction from the other boys was immediate, they both jumped on their brother's attacker and ganged up on him, Peeta was crying, picking up the pieces of their broken structures, he frantically tried to fix it, but he couldn't, and as he picked through the debris of sticks and glue and thread, he came across a sight that filled him with horror.

At the very bottom of the cardboard that served as flooring for their model, laid the prone form of a pixie, she was winged, with a head full of golden hair, her little clothes were long flowy beige gossamer instead of their usual stif brown wear... He quickly cupped his hands and picked the little being up and clutched her to his chest, he ran towards the rock, but Cato had dealt dirty punches to Rye and Bill's tummies and now ran after Peeta to continue his abuse on the smaller kid.

Right when Peeta felt the bigger boy's hand take a hold of his shoulder, he shrieked to the pixies to go hide somewhere safe. He kept a tight fist out of Cato's reach, trying with all his might to protect the little pixie woman in his grasp, until he fell on the ground and his little hand opened with the force, the small little blue creature rolled out of his hand, and as if magically, disappeared from sight right before Cato's eyes could register the motion. Peeta closed his sweet little eyes, and braced for a punch on the face that never came.

The adults had seen the whole thing happening and rushed outside to separate the children. It is needless to say, the Mellark boys got their behinds whooped and got sent up to their room for the remainder of the afternoon. By the time supper came around, the Snows had left. Cato did not get punished for pounding any of the boys, not even little Peeta who was the most defenseless of the three.

Dinner was a quiet affair, and it suited the mood of everyone at the table, that it had started rained outside of the house. It was as well as if the heavens wanted to wash away the events of the day, and nothing washes things better than whole lots of rain. It rain, and it rain, and it rain some more, and no stories of pixies or fairies or trolls were told at all. The boys marched up their room once again after their meal, they were still grounded for fighting and none of them thought it was fair, but they didn't argue, they just hanged down their heads and silently entered the bathroom to take turns at the sink to brush their teeth and get ready to go to sleep.

After their pajamas were on, and the three of them sat in bed, their father came in looking disappointed and sad, and sat on the edge of the bed where Billy lied down. "Boys..." He said with a sigh. "I'm not very happy with your behavior today. I did not rise you kids to be brawling like that. Violence should never be the way you use to resolve your problems."

"But he was hurting Peeta!" Protested Billy sitting up straight on his bed.

"Yeah... I saw that, and I'm glad you and Rye tried to defend your baby brother from a bigger kid picking on him, but, I also saw Rye gave the first push..." He put up his hand in the air to stop his middle son as he was getting ready to argue the point, "I know Cato can be a handful, and he will be a handful the rest of his life, he will be unhappy and not very nice as a grown up, I'm sure of that. But you three are my boys, and I want better for you, I want you three to be good people, reliable and respectful and nice, because being nice and fair makes us better people and better people usually have happier lives. I want you all to be happy adults when you grow up. No more fighting whilst you can avoid it, by no means be the instigators, the world is already full of bullies, but you my children should be different, alright?" He asked with a softer tone, all three boys replied with a united "alright" then Mr. Mellark kissed three little foreheads, turn off the light and went on his way.

Since it was raining so hard, the bedroom window stayed shut, the Princess Pixie could not enter and see to the boys herself, to thank them properly for the great deed their actions were, specially that of the little one, for it was her Mother the Queen Pixie who little Peeta had rescued from under the shattered playground. The Queen had seen how the little boy needed help when a bigger boy went after him, and she had rushed out of her invisible little kingdom to protect the little boy in need, but it was her the one who got hurt in the process, luckily the quick actions of the human child allowed for the pixie folk to retrieve their Queen and mend her best they could, and succeeded at the last minute. The Queen of the Pixies was safe because of the little blond boy, and the Princess had a big debt to thank him for.

She desperately looked for little cracks and crannies in the glass window, looking for a hole to go in, but there was no entry to be found, so frustrated on her endeavor she kicked the pane and luck had it, it was enough noise to startled the smallest boy awake. She noticed him stirring and renewed her assault on the unyielding glass, until he cautiously looked at her, and his face filled with surprise, but before he could jump out of bed to yank the window open for her, a thunder resonated closed by and lighting flashed with it.

The boy jumped frightened by the loud boom, but he recognized the sounds of the storm, and quickly regained his courage. The Princess though fled back to her home, for it would be nearly impossible for her to escape the elements if she lingered by the human dwelling. Peeta worried about the fate of the pixies, he had no idea what drove the Princess to come see him, but he knew he had to help them somehow, so quick as a whip, he ran down the stairs and into the kitchen he went. His father had baked some bread with him and his brothers as helpers, but they burned the loaves and their mother refused to eat them complaining about the charred exterior of the bread... Little Peeta stood thinking his options for a moment until another flash of light illuminated the whole interior of the house quickly followed by a deafening boom, he had no more time to loose, so he grabbed the two burnt loaves and ran out the kitchen door and into the stormy night.

His brother Billy felt him leave the bed, and gingerly went after him after he was sure little Peeta was not in his side of the bed. He climbed the stairs one step at a time as silently as he could and jumped in fear as the thunder broke above in the sky like a lash of a whip. "Peeta!" He whispered harshly, "What are you doing? Come back!" He followed right away as his little brother teared out of the house. The two boys ran at full throttled, the younger oblivious he was being followed by his eldest brother.

Another blinding lighting stroke down and Peeta saw the small erratic zig-zag of Luna moth wings fluttered right ahead, the little insect like thing fell to the ground, her wings soaked heavy with rain impeding her progress, she thought that this was her end, until the little boy with the two enormous bread loaves crashed on his knees only a few inches away from her, on the muddy ground were she lay ready to die for her recklessness.

"Princess!" The boy gasped, and scooped her up without stopping, he dug a chunk of bread out of one of the loaves and placed her teetering, shaking body into the soft bed of fluffy bread. His brother caught up right as he was getting up on his feet.

"Peeta! What are you doing? Are you crazy? Come on, we gotta get back!"

"I can't Billy... The Princess can't fly and she doesn't look very good!" Said the 6 year old boy shoving the loaf into his brother's hands, the older boy looked down into the cut off piece and almost screamed when he saw the pixie cradled in the bread weakly trying to sit up.

"Peeta... She's real!"

"I know she is, you doofus... Now let's go, we have to take her back to her home!" The boys nodded to one another and took of running back to the pixie territory.

"Help! help pixie folk... We have one of your own that needs help!" Yelled Billy as they reached the stone, for the very first time, the pixies threw caution to the winds and left their hiding spots, there were hundreds of the little people rushing towards them, only one of them was winged, the one Peeta had saved earlier, she had an arm in tiny sling. The pixies took the Princess and the bread, and the regal Queen Pixie, came to hover in front of the boys and bowed in thanks to them. The other pixies did the same, and also extended their arms towards the boys, but their fingers where so little, it was but a fluke a lighting that fell in that moment allowed them to see, each pixie had their three middle fingers upright while their thumbs and pinkies met at their open palms, on instinct, Peeta returned the sign, and the pixies bowed one more time, and then stepped back under the hollow of their home, under the menhir stone.

 

==============

 

Six years had passed from the night of the storm at auntie Mags. The boys never got a chance to see the pixies again, for which Rye had been pointedly angry at his brothers for years. He often rant saying he got robbed of his biggest dream. But, Billy assured him that they would come back the next summer and have new adventures where he could meet the blue skinned little beings.

Alas, none of that ever happened, as life often does, it changes and mutates and creates all kinds of disruptions to previously set routines. A week long trip on the summer to Europe gets postponed to next year because an aunt who lives in the moorlands of England decides to take a holiday of her own, it even might be than a cousin in the far away land of Argentina, meets a professional tango dancer and marries in the biggest wedding of the century and your parents have no more savings left for a tour of England after their trip to South America. It might be that someone gets a hold of Father's credit card number and almost empties the family's bank accounts, but luckily the bank caught up on the suspicious credit card activity and blocked all transactions over the Fourth of July weekend that happened to be a long weekend because the 4th was on a Friday and that's when you figured out your account was taken to the cleaners.

"I do not understand why are so many dishonest people, that without any consideration steal from hardworking folks, who day after day sacrifice their time and strength to serve a community and offer a service they hardly appreciate!" Had complained Mother after hanging up the phone with the bank clerk who helped them straighten out the messed of the stolen card number.

And all those were some of the things that actually happened to make the Mellarks postponed their holidays until next year, every year for the next five years... The brothers would not retuned to the menhir housing their pixies until way later, and by then the boys had grown so much and seen so much out of life, the magic just wasn't there any longer.

Life has the nasty habit of throwing low, painful and unexpected blows every once in a while, without reason nor warning, it just hits hard anybody no matter the condition or age of those stuck with the happenings around them, once life decides to cripple a person's existence, it will do it disregarding their youth or ability to face and comprehend harsh circumstances.

On a cold, bitter winter night, Mr. Mellark and a handful of his employees, had stayed later than usual in his beloved bakery. The day had been long and busy, the holidays merely two weeks away, people were coming in and placing orders for their various events; cakes, cookies and pastries, dinner rolls and hearty breads... Everyone wanted something from Mr. Mellark's kitchens to celebrate their Saviors birth, the upcoming New Year, Hanukkah or Kwanza, whatever their creed or reason to celebrate was, they were going to do it by stuffing themselves with the delicious flavors of his cuisine.

Mr. Mellark had a reputation for being a generous man, only rivaled in contrast to that of the stinginess of his wife. This widely know trait of the baker made him popular with the seemingly helpless, the beggars and jobless and even the children with next to nothing to fill up their tummies. No one ever left Mellark's Bakery empty handed. So when the news of the botched robbery were the beloved baker made the ultimate selfless sacrifice as he shielded his employees with his own body from and armed thieve broke into the new stands the next day, the small quiet town of Panem, North Carolina, grieved with his wife and three sons, and didn't dare to asked for refunds on already paid goods that he would not baked.

But, grief takes many shapes and leaves ugly scars even in the gentlest of souls; Mrs. Mellark was already a very strict person to begin with, but subtract the loving, accepting character of her husband, add grief, loneliness and heartbreak and you get an unbalanced shift into intransigency and perfection demanding, the less the children acted like perfect little robots, the more frustrated she grew, the more frustration accumulated, the angrier she became, the angrier she was the less patience she had, the less patience she felt the easier it got to lash out with harsh words, when harsh words made the children leash out back (because they all were suffering same as her, and felt anger, sadness and helpless as much as she did) then, it felt satisfying to her the moment her hand stroke 14 year old Rye on the cheek when his defiant attitude reached it's peak, talking back was not tolerated, even if her boys weren't usually the type to talk back under normal circumstances. But the cycle of violence only spiraled out of control and expanded until slaps on the face or the back of the head were the new normal, and kind words were replaced by screams and insults; long gone was the happy family that the baker had strived to form.

The Family finally returned to England at the request of loving aunt Mags, she sensing the tension on her widowed niece, broke her piggy bank and got them all airfare back to her place, they were to stay with her for the duration of the summer instead of only a week, and the boys felt so relieved they gratefully accepted the gift. Anything was better than to be cooped up in that hellish house of theirs anymore, and the prospect of going to stay with aunt Mags, were they had created some of their fondest memories as young children was enticing. Mrs. Mellark saw as a reprieved as well, and the now family of four had a relaxing time... For a few weeks at least, for the pain and ugliness people keep inside, cannot stay hidden for ever.

Rye was the most rebellious of the three, the one who would never hold back a snarky response, but also the one that struggled with angry outbursts that ribald that if his mother's, he had very short tolerance for his younger brother and often pushed him around when his frustrations grew too high, Bill was usually always there to defend Peeta both from their mother and their brother, but Bill was now a 16 year old teenager, with a handsome face, broad shoulders and smile that could melt ice, girls (american or british) were not immune to his charms, and the dating monster was unleashed for him that summer; he wasn't home the day that the now forgotten pixies came back into their lives with a very loud bang, after that day, none of the Mellarks, including the Mrs., would ever forget about the incident that brought them back to the forefront of their minds.

 

===================

 

It was a hot and muggy kind of day.

It was unbearable outside, but aunt Mags' provisions were getting low after feeding 3 growing boys, she good naturely smiled at her emptying pantry, and decided it was time for a run to the town to restock her kitchen and fridge. She waved off her niece when she offered to go do the shopping herself, after all she had not have them at her home in such a long time, she wanted to pamper them all. Aunt Mags had no reason to suspect that she had made a terrible mistake denying her niece a day away from her children.

Peeta was minding his own business, he had inherited his mother's clever hands, but his imagination and eye for color were his own, he was very talented with a pencil and paper, and he seemed to have an uncanny dominion of pretty words and their delivery to others, the problem was, that when he was deep in his zone, doodling away, he blocked out the rest of world and heard nothing at all around him. It had become an escape from his reality to loose himself in his drawings, and it bothered his brother to no end, when he was talking to him and the younger boy did not acknowledge him in any way.

"Peeta! Stop with the tongue clicking already!" Yelled Rye to his brother who sat on the bed across from his. Peeta, as usual didn't even registered something had been screamed at him, so Rye threw him a pillow right smack on the face. That finally brought the kid out of his trance.

"Hey! What was that for?" Asked Peeta angrily. "You made me scratch up the picture of I was drawing!"

"If the picture wasn't of a hot chick then it's not a big loss!" The older boy said picking up his Suicide Squad comic book and resumed reading it. "Just shut it with the noise, it's annoying and distracting, I can't read with you clicking your tongue like that." Demanded the teenager.

"You are such a jerk, Rye!"

"Yeah and you are a little twerp"

"Shut up!"

"No... You shut up before I come over there and make you eat your little drawing!"

"Try it! You think I can't sock you in the nose?"

"Ha! I would love to see it! You are baby... A helpless little cry baby, and your little pictures are stupid!"

The two boys jumped out of their respective beds and stood in the middle of the bedroom the three of them occupied, fists at the ready, and Rye simply gave his brother a push that landed him on his butt, the smaller boy sprang up angrier than before and threw a punch that his brother easily sidestepped, then they were all out wrestling with each other. On the lower level, Mrs. Mellark yelled at them to stop whatever they were doing up there, but the boys were too much into their brawl to listen and sense danger brewing.

The boys didn't noticed how precariously closed they were to a small bookcase where aunt Mags had different knick-knacks and framed pictures of various family members, even their late father was amongst them forever smiling at his now fighting sons. One bump from someone's back, a stray elbow shoved here, a kicked landed there, and the whole shelf came toppling over on top of the boys with a very loud crash.

"Shit! Peeta get your ass up... Now!" Screamed Rye panicking. "Momma is gonna kill us... Quick we need to clean all this up before..."

But she was already there, and she had yanked the smaller of the two boys by the scruff with an angry expression on her face. Before either kid could utter or even think of a passable excuse for all the damage they caused, she had flung the boy across the room, he fell backwards on the bed, and she dove on top of him hitting him with and open hand, the older boy kicked the bookcase away from him and lunged at his mother knocking her away from his baby brother.

"Run, you idiot, run!" He said as he pulled him by the wrist and out of the bedroom, they flew down the stairs, Peeta was crying and couldn't see where they were going, they bumped into furniture and discarded shoes on the living room, they tripped and fell and got up again just in time to miss one of the shoes they had tripped over, that their mother had shucked at them, "Peeta come on, you have to run faster, keep up" yelled Rye still clutching to his arm, but Peeta was having trouble trying to keep up, it didn't help his tears didn't let him see ahead of him, his toes hit the tip of a buried boulder on the ground outside, and Rye lost his grasped on his brother's arms when he slipped to the ground. The momentum he had created, prevented him from stopping and help his brother up, their mother got to him first, and she was beyond angry by now, instead of slapping her youngest son with an open hand she was pounding him with her closed fists, Rye turned back and pushed her away once more,

"Leave him alone you witch!" The woman regained her footing and quick as a flash, had punched Rye in the face before he could flinch back. the boy stumbled a bit, but somehow picked up his brother who was trying to get up from the ground, they both tried to run, but their mother caught Peeta by the back of his t-shirt and she was on top of him again, she rose her fist above his face and all he could do was cover it with his hands, Rye was inexplicably also on the ground crawling his way towards his brother, and right before Mrs. Mellark's knuckles made contact with Peeta's already bruising face, a woman had leaped out of nowhere and bumped the boys' mother back, about a foot away from the child and poised herself between the two.

The strange woman was heaving air through her flaring nostrils, what scared the socks off of the three Mellarks was the sharp menacing arrow pointing directly at Mrs. Mellark's face.

"Touch him again, and I will pierce you with this arrow!" Hissed the woman through gritted teeth.

"Holly shit!" Muttered Rye in amazement, "Peeta... It's your Pixie Princess!"

Indeed, the woman standing before them was dressed in all brown, with suppled looking leather boots, a very long dark braid snaking behind her winged back and for what they could see, her skin was tinted a diluted soft blue that seems to shimmer under the low sun of the afternoon.

"This can't be..." Said Mrs. Mellark before falling on her knees defeated, the boys where still on their place on the ground, Peeta was flabbergasted, she was indeed his pixie friend, only she wasn't 3 inches tall anymore, but a whole 5 ft. or so.

"Who are you?" Asked Mrs. Mellark shakily when she finally found her voice.

"I'm Princess Katniss, from the House of the Evergreens, my mother rules the Twelfth Kingdom and this are her domains, the children are under my people's protection so beware our wrath if you caused them any other injuries. You have been warned! Now be gone, so we can tend to them properly"

"You can't kidnap my children! I will not leave!" Spat Mrs. Mellark standing up. This angered the pixie, her wings flapped dangerously lifting her up about ten inches off of the ground, lowering her still loaded bow she flew to the offensive human stopping short of her face.

"Be gone I said! I am not a fairy to be accused of kidnaping human youngsters!" Yelled the Princess looking down straight into the woman's face angrily, "I am not the kind to be trifled with, I will deliver the children back to ye's dwelling myself, so be gone!" Mrs. Mellark simply bit her tongue and turned on her heel, she was sure this _thing,_ whatever shewas, really meant business.

Only once the human woman was a few feet away from them, did the pixie sheathed her arrow back into the thin tubular leather quiver hanging between her luna moth wings, she twirled her longbow dexterously in her free hand and turned around to regard the boys who were now either sitting up straight or kneeling up, watching her incredulously, they shared the same amazed shocked expression in their faces and wide opened blue eyes. She smiled benignly at them.

"You have grown my lords. Last I saw you, you were not but small frys. But this is to be expected of humans I surmise. Come now, we have to get closer to the stone for my people to be able to tend to your bruises."

"You... You know us?" Asked Rye dumbfounded.

"Of course I do... You are the Boy with Bread and his second eldest sibling... I had dubbed the eldest The Protector, but, I guess the title can be of used for you as well, my dear sir." She said with an amused smile.

"Oh no... Bill can still be the protector, I much rather be 'The handsome, witty one' if you don't mind... Um... Your... Highness?" He smirked standing up clumsily and patting his shorts clean off dirt. She laughed at this, and her laugh sounded like tiny tinkling bells.

The menhir that they long ago thought to be the pixies house, was just but a stone throw's away, no wonder she had jumped in to defend them from that nasty beating.

Princess Katniss, as she said her name was, had not left their side while a group of tiny blue creatures applied miniature amounts of salve onto the kids' bruises. They were done applying the cream onto Rye's face in almost no time, which was impressive by how small their little hands were compared to how big the expanse of skin affected was. Peeta, who had sustained the brunt of the attack took three times longer to be cleaned up, and lathered up with the healing substance, but he was ok with it; it gave him time to admire his pixie Princess in peace, he was committing to memory the exact shade of grey her almond shape eyes were, and the slope of her nose, the way her braid swayed in the breeze, he was fascinated with her, from the way she threw her head back when she laughed at the idiotically dumb jokes his brother said while hugging her arms around her stomach as if trying to prevent it to split, to the way her nose scrunch up when she smiled right before she announced how cute or funny she thought they were. Peeta had managed to make her laugh a couple of times himself, she seemed to be specially fond of Peeta, she was constantly brushing his unruly curls back from his forehead as she listened to whatever the boys were saying.

Finally it was time for the boys to return home. She offered her hand to Peeta to hold and he took it immediately. The closer they got to the cottage though, the quieter they all grew, Peeta clang to her arm for dear life as she knocked on the front door.

Their mother opened the door and gave the pixie a weary look.

"As I had promised... Your children have been returned. I will trust them into your care, but, make no mistake, if they need me, it will only suffice them to call out my name and I will be here for them." She said this and gave Peeta a reassuring squeeze of his hand, Mrs. Mellark nodded her understanding, she was embarrassed and frightened, but that day was the very last she dared hit her children, the fear never left her, not until the day she passed on.

Peeta looked up to his pixie, and gave her a pleading look, she knelt in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"My darlin' boy... You, I love the most, if ever you, any of you Mellark children, should ever ask me to stay with you, I will." She whispered her promised to the boy staring right into his eyes. But, Peeta thought of his brothers, how they took care of him, and simply took a sharp breath in and bravely said,

"I have my brothers, your highness, they will take care of me... But if I need you I know your name... _Katniss_!" He said and his fingers caught the end of her long braid, he twisted the soft shiny black hair into his index finger and let go of it after observing it tight and loose as he twirled his finger in and out of the twist. He then looked at her face and found a soft smile there just for him. He smiled back, and then twined his thin arms around her neck. "I think your wings are very pretty!" He whispered into her ear, and she laughed that tiny bells sound again. She kissed his forehead and said goodbye.

But things in the Mellark home got better after that day, and the children did not called for the pixie, not once, not until their adult life anyway, and then, it was not even any of their voices the one that rasply asked the winged blue woman with the grey eyes the question,

"Would you stay with me?"

The new Mellark child folded into the pixie's arms sniffling deep in her chest, under the cover of a stone menhir while the moon was hidden from human eyes behind a thundering storm, it was impossible to deny the frail tiny voice of this little girl that now pleaded for her company, Katniss was goner for yet another Mellark child, so her answer did not falter when she decidedly whispered "Always"


	2. 16 Years Waiting for Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: THG Series do not belong to me. 
> 
> Still don't have a beta for this work, and that's ok... I accept my mistakes and also accept corrections from mindful readers. I do, though, have a Proof-Reader! **Shellibug ******who has become my official consultant in everything Dartmoor! You rock dear! Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the areas around Devon with me!!!
> 
> If you want to see what Dartmoor looks like, please click on the link bellow! This is the landscape that surrounds Mags' cottage in my mind! You're welcome!

[https://www.google.com/search?q=dartmoor+pony&prmd=is&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIkt6xmricxwIVxhc-Ch1R3A64&biw=320&bih=460#tbm=isch&q=dartmoor+&imgrc=VLiJHKoTlSTjkM%3A](https://www.google.com/search?q=dartmoor+pony&prmd=is&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIkt6xmricxwIVxhc-Ch1R3A64&biw=320&bih=460#tbm=isch&q=dartmoor+&imgrc=VLiJHKoTlSTjkM%3A)

**Chapter 2:**

 

Peeta Mellark jumps out of the taxi cab and sprint walks quickly into the building he was directed to. As he crosses the lobby, aiming for the reception desk, he smoothes a hand down his suit's sleeves; he's kicking himself for oversleeping this morning now forcing him to cutting it, _oh_ , so very closed to the appointment time.

The receptionist, does her phone answering thing through her little head set, looking like she was ripped out of a movie, as she lifts up her index finger to him signifying she'll be with him in a moment while transferring another call to who-cares-what department, Peeta rolls his eyes at the gesture, but takes the extra few seconds to straighten his Looney Tunes tie... He sighs looking down at it, wishing he had packed at least one tie his 11 year old daughter hadn't chosen for him, then again, he's not quite sure he actually has serious, grown up ties, he owns four of them and each one is some novelty thing: one with tiny Mickey Mouse heads, a red one with the face of Bob the Tomato at the bottom and two Looney Tunes ones. He was thankful his brothers had packed extra ties for the funeral though. It would have been disrespectful of him to show up to the funeral home wearing a VeggieTales tie, that's for sure.

The receptionist, finally done directing telephone traffic looks up and gives a double take when her eyes find the criminally handsome face of the man standing in front of her desk. His forget-me-not blue eyes so bright and striking, she has to clear her throat to force her words out.

"H-how can I help you, Misterrrr...?" She gives him an overly wide smile, and he almost sighs at her obviousness, _almost_ , he's had to deal with moony eyes and breathy sighs most of his adult life, at first it was nothing but ego fodder and then it was flattery, but now... sometimes it gets annoying, especially when you are late for a Will reading.

"Mellark... Peeta Mellark. I'm here for the offices of Paylor & Lyme?" He says as politely as he can muster.

"Oh, sure Mr. Mellark... Um, second lift on the right. Third floor!" The young lady says batting her lashes shamelessly.

"Thank you, ma'am!" She actually giggled right before waving him goodbye. He didn't even bother to give her a smile; he simply rushed to the elevators and pressed the button of the second one to the right.

Once the elevator dings announcing his floor, the doors open directly into the offices of Paylor & Lyme, he stumbles a step out of the elevator and a burning desire to have stayed in bed instead of rushing here invades him, his heart stammers in his chest, he feels his airways constricting and a burning sensation at the mouth of his stomach. This is it. The figurative last nail in the literal coffin. Once this is done, she will really be gone forever, just like his father before her. He hadn't noticed he was hyperventilating until his brother, who just materialized out of nowhere shoved him down into a couch in the waiting area, crouching in front of him he starts coaching him how to breathe through his nose and mouth, until he's regained control over himself once more.

"Thank you Bill" he says weakly. His brother simply smiles at him.

"No problem... Come on, I think we are the last two out here."

But Peeta stops his brother by tugging on the sleeve of his charcoal grey suit, "Billy... I-I don't think I can do this... I just... I can't... I didn't sign up for this, this is not what I wanted... If could give back any of the stuff she's leaving us just to have her back, I would!" He says and a small sob escapes his mouth.

"Peet... I don't think that's how it works, man. You don't get selected as a beneficiary of someone's will by applying for the position. She named you a beneficiary because she loved you, and she loved you because you cared, when she grew old and frail it was you who would make the long flights to see her, you did more than anyone expected."

"Yeah, that might be, but I’d still rather have my auntie Mags here with me, I'd still rather see her and hug her... I can't do that to material things left in a will!"

"I understand what you're saying, dude, but look at it this way: Aunt Mags was a sweet lady and she will be terribly missed, she _knew_ that though, she was smart! she knew we were going to miss her dearly, so she decided to leave all of us a piece of her to..." Bill fumbled for word gesturing circle motions with his hands, before settling for,    "Mmm, Treasure, you know? To remember her by. This is her way of telling us it's ok to miss her, and through this she is also telling us she was thinking of us. So, yeah, it would be infinitely better to have her still be alive and well, but she was old and sick, she was tired Peet, so, accept her gifts as... I don't know... little ' _I love you_ 's from her. Because that's what all this means!" Bill was like their dead father, he had a way to impart wisdom and make it sound like he had every answer for every problem in the world. Peeta nodded and cleaned up his face with his hand, Bill gave him a tissue from a nearby box and his baby brother took it gratefully.

The brothers, finally come into the conference room of the attorney's office, and sit next to Rye, who is looking worse for wear, he's eying his mother who is seated at the end if the oval table, and Peeta immediately knows his brother is crossed with the woman for some reason, probably about the incident at the cemetery two days earlier.

 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

 

_Everything started right after the funeral. They had just laid Aunt Mags' remains to rest, and said their heartfelt goodbyes. Their cousin Effie, who was aunt Mags' eccentric, only daughter, had been dabbing at the corner of her eyes daintily, although if he thought about it, she has always done everything that way, which meant the whole observation wasn't very noteworthy. What was remarkable about Effie, was how she had been wearing very colorful stockings under her black dress. Peeta's 11 year old daughter found it fascinating, and kept staring._

_The stockings were periwinkle blue, with a pattern of brightly colored butterflies of varying sizes scattered over the stretchy material. They looked life-like from up close._

_It was Peeta's fault, really, he had been lost in his internal thoughts as he gazed at the site where his aunt had been lowered into the ground, and missed the moment in which his girl left his side and crossed the small road that criss-crossed the entire cemetery. The girl was usually careful and smart, but in this occasion, she had not realized those were actual live roads, with real traffic, and whoever was behind the wheel of the small sedan, was clearly not paying attention either. The next thing they knew, there was a loud screech of rubber tires, a child scream followed by the honk of a horn and whole host of female cries of "Be careful", "Stop!" and "Look up's”._

_Mrs. Mellark, had pulled her granddaughter by the hood of herd ark blue peacoat with enough force to have the child bouncing on the grassy ground on her bum, she then flew over to her son in a fury and got up on his face screaming, she threw at him every unflattering insult she knew and cussed him out for being a distracted mess, she was not shy in telling him that she feared her only granddaughter would be unsafe when she was left solely under his care and then added that she should keep the young girl and rise her herself, she would do a much better job than him at any rate, she would be able to dedicate the time he obviously lacked with his new venture about to start, and that he was being selfish for dragging his little girl away from_ her _to such a dangerous place as New York City._

_The brothers had taken Mellark's Bakery and made an empire of baked goods out of their Father's modest shop, expanding the business all along the East Coast, their home based was still the small town of Panem, North Carolina, but, now every major city from Georgia to Rhode Island homed a Mellark's Bakery... they were still expanding business up north, their goal was to reach Maine and every state in between. But business was struggling in their Manhattan location, and Peeta volunteered to take over the store himself, he had the hunch that they might have to tweak how they operated business there, turn the bakery into a more sophisticated eatery or something of the sort, but to do that, he needed to be there and oversee the changes and transitions, so after they went back home from Mags' funeral, he and his little girl would be leaving Panem and relocating to New York._

 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

 

Peeta, had been an inexperience 17 year old boy, when life slapped him his teenaged hormonal chest with an infant to take care of. When the Mother _, unexpectantly_ dropped out of the picture, abandoning her child in her flabbergasted boyfriend's arms, Mrs. Mellark, in a surprising move, stepped in, to help her son care for the baby while he finished high school, and then attended a collage at a reasonably driving distance from home, that allowed him to commute daily back and forth, obtain a Business degree and still be home to tuck his daughter in at night, every night. Growing up, Mrs. Mellark hadn't been the warmest of mothers, not after her husband died, but, she had taken it upon herself to raise the little girl as if she was her own, so her son could make something of himself, and stand on his own two feet; He was incredibly grateful to his mother for all she had done for him, but now at 28, it was high time for him to stop relying on her so much. It wasn't as he had not taken steps to assert his independence from her, after graduating from college, he got his own place with two bedrooms, and a nice backyard for his daughter to play in, he worked at the bakery with his brothers and then he worked from home managing things he didn't need to do on site from the rest of their stores. His mother was relegated to babysitting duty when the girl started attending school, which was all well and dandy, until he announced his moved to NYC. Mrs. Mellark, irrationally took it as a personal offense, saying that he was trying to separate her, from her only grandchild as punishment for a comment she had made about her son's new fiancée, a woman he had met in his senior year in college and Mrs. Mellark disliked more than he did her grand daughter's mother, and of course, the little _hussy_  as she called the new _fiancée_ , lived in New York, which she thought was the sole reason why her son wanted to move there as well.

The Mellark matriarch had told Peeta, repeatedly, that he had the intuition of a plank of wood when it came to women, that his judgement was poor to say the least when he chose a mate, because he always ended up with the worse apples in the barrel somehow, it didn't matter how good they looked initially, they were always rotten inside. 

The truth was... He actually agreed with his mother, at least subconsciously, he often felt disappointed on the women he dated, and he hadn't had a lasting relationship in years until Clove Fuhrman, to whom he proposed marriage on a drunken moment of weakness and loneliness. But, Peeta had decided that everything that happens is usually for the best, and since Clove was not necessarily eager to tie the knot right away, after college, she found a lucrative job in the Big Apple and moved happily to the big City leaving North Carolina behind, the long distance relationship actually suited both if them just right, so he just went with the flow, being happy to at least have someone to call his own, but still enjoying his freedom... At least until now, that Clove had decided it was time to make things official, what with his moving there and all, he didn't truly opposed to the idea of getting married, he knew Prim needed a mom some way or another, but he felt like a bystander while his fiancée set a date and placed a down payment on a reception location without as much as asking him his opinion. At the end, he didn't feel like this was actually happening to him, he was too engrossed on the preparations to take over the bakery.

Peeta insisted to his mother, time and again, that moving to Manhattan had nothing to do with her _or_ Clove, but it had _all_ to do with the business their family had worked so hard to maintain in vogue, it still made no difference in Mrs. Melkark's mind. Peeta was still moving away, and with him his daughter, but after the incident in the cemetery he could clearly see his mother's logic. He needed help, especially when he started working full time to revamp the bakery, because he knew he tended to let his work consume him and get lost in his own head blocking out the world around him, and wrong as it was, this also included his daughter at times. Forgetting that someone depended solely on him wouldn't do for an 11 year old child in a strange city; Peeta knew that to have her father lost in his own world, was not an option for his child, Primrose... She looked so much like him, and was completely different at the same time, she was fair skinned, with blue eyes like his own and her mother's fine golden hair, delicate nose and cheekbones, but the girl's smile was 100% Mellark. He smiled to himself thinking about the one true love of his life.

"Where did you leave Prim?" Rye's whispered voice broke the fog in Peeta's convoluted brain.

"Um... Portia and Cinna. They were telling her horror stories about the Tower of London, so... Naturally she begged me to take her there; since I had to be here, they offered to give her a tour." Peeta responded to his brother as he fidgeted with his tie for the thousandth time that day.

"Ooh... That sounds like fun! I wish I was with the little chipmunk right now instead of here..." Rye groused, sticking a finger between his neck and the collar of his button up shirt and pulling at it uncomfortably. He hated suits. "Hey... she still interested in going to Leavesden Studios? I heard you can buy passes to see Hogwarts Castle for cheap from this one dude..."

"Rye..." Peeta interrupted his brother with an aggravated shake of his head, "I'm not risking buying counterfeit tickets from some seedy guy you've heard off... If my little girl wants to go to Hogwarts she will have to wait for the proper way in..."

"What? With a letter of acceptance?" Mocked Rye back, Peeta fixed him with a dirty look.

"No... That'll be stupid... She's a muggle! She's aware of it and she's fine with it!" The brothers grin at each other, that trademark Mellark grin that usually had women dropping their undergarments at sight. "I was actually going to say she would have to wait until I buy the tickets online!"

"Hey... I'm just saying... She's the right age to get her letter, you know!" Said Rye still smirking crookedly at his baby brother. "But if you wanna be boring, then do it your way and get tickets online!" Peeta rolled his eyes,

"That's the plan, thank you very much... Now shut up and pay attention, the meeting is starting!" since the lawyers had just entered the room and taken their seats, they abandoned their whispered conversation.

The reading of auntie Mags' last will and testament was... painful, sad, but also bittersweet. She had left a video she had recorded maybe a year or two before her passing. She was her witty self in it and made all those present at least crack a smile if not chuckle at times.

The biggest surprise to all, was that she instructed all her family members to come to her cottage in Devon for a holiday before the house was either put up for sale or her daughter Effie moved into the now empty cottage. She reasoned that the place was home to all of them, and she wanted to have her family together once more, even if she was absent. So it was decided, after sixteen years, the Mellarks were heading back to Aunt Mags' Cottage, before returning to America.

 

===============

 

Aunt Mags had moved to London at her daughter's bequest, a couple of years earlier when the elderly woman had survived a stroke while alone. Mags lived with a recently divorced Effie Trinket, she had kept the house she and her drunkard of a husband had shared for all their married life, but when things got difficult with Mags' health issues, Effie sold her too big of a house and move into a flat in the city, closer to Mags' doctors, and together the two women had the best last years of Mags' life. Effie would often say, she did not regret giving up her house, after all it only held painful memories, but she would miss her flat in London. 

The Mellark men knew Effie Trinket mostly from pictures and stories they've heard from Aunt Mags, Peeta was the one most familiar with the zany woman, because he had made it his job to come see Mags at least once every year after Prim was old enough to stay strapped in her airplane seat for the duration of the transatlantic flight, but since Effie was already married and out of her mother's cottage by the time Bill was 1, the other two brothers had never actually have a meaningful conversation with her, let alone spent more than a few hours in the same room with their cousin. This vacation business was going to be interesting to say the least, but it was necessary. After all they had to go pick up their inheritance from the cottage.

Effie, having a larger-than-life personality herself, was a character in all the sense of the word. Prim squealed in excitement, when she heard she was going to spend a whole week in the cottage she had heard so much about from her daddy, and uncles' childhoods, and the fact that the hostess was going to be Effie, who just fascinated her, was like the cherry on top...

"Who needs a tour of a fake wizardry school when you could potentially meet real life fairies?!?!"

"Pixies!" Corrected uncle Rye as he drove the rental van through the vast greenery of the English grasslands.

The landscape with the curious stone tors and the creeks and brooks snaking along the dirt roads lined with green everywhere was just so serene and beautiful, it begged for stories of magical beings to be told. 

"Pixies get very shirty if you call them Fairies, dear," supplied a yawning Effie, who had decided to hitch a ride with the Mellarks, since they were all heading for the same place and had a big vehicle to do so. "Pixies are very proud creatures, you see, it is not very sensible to call them the wrong name. They detest being mistaken for other species... I myself, am particularly fond of Fairies, just for their aesthetics, mind you, but... Mum was gaga for the blue little things. She just loved them!"

"Oh... Um, Ms. Trinket... are you familiar with the stories Aunt Mags used to tell my Daddy and Uncles when they were kids?" Asked the girl expectantly.

"Why I do in fact! But, we have to set some ground rules first in order for me to tell you any of them, young lady!" Informed Effie firmly, Prim's forget-me-not blue eyes that marked her as a true Mellark, widen nervously at the lady's firmness, she hoped she hadn't offended Ms. Trinket.

"Uh... Sure... Whatever you want me to do, Ms. Trinket." Squeaked out the girl.

"Alright. First of all... Call me Effie. Although I appreciate the nicety of good manners in a young lady such as yourself, I would rather you save the formalities for people outside the family!" Said the woman with a big smile that Prim tentatively returned. "Then, we need to be in an appropriate setting before I can share my tales. The art of storytelling is something my mum taught me to always do right, so we will need a proper sitting area and to procure treats, for you cannot enjoy good stories on an empty stomach!"

At this, Rye piped up enthusiastically, "Ooh-ooh! I'mma baker, I'mma baker!" He bounced on his seat behind the wheel a bit too excitedly for his age, before adding with a clap "I can bake cookies and Nutella filled rolls for story time tonight!"

"Um... What happened with diabetes prevention?" Asked Bill from his place, next to his driving brother on the front seat.

"Yeah Rye... Wasn't it just yesterday you about slapped a sucker out of Cousin Gladys' three year old boy's hand, and screamed at the poor young lady that gave him the lollipop in the first place for endangering the child's health?" Asked Peeta from the very back row of the van, where he was semi lying on the seat, his eyes were closed and his arms crossed over his chest, but his smile was clearly etched in his face.

"Shut up you two! I'm still mindful of the dangers of sugar consumption, I don't condone feeding straight up candy to already chubby kids that clearly overindulge in sweets, but an oatmeal and raisins cookie or two every now and then is fine!"

"And the Nutella rolls?" Asked Mrs. Mellark looking out the window. She had not spoken at all during the trip until then.

"Those are for the Pixies" said Rye waving his arm offhandedly.

"Do you expect the pixies to come call at the house? I've never heard of pixies coming to a human dwelling for treats" said Effie peering at her second cousin through the rearview mirror.

"Oh, pixies will go to a house alright... They're terrifying little barbarians, the little monsters!" Muttered Mrs. Mellark just loud enough to be overheard by everyone, but still pretend she hadn't said anything at all.

This peaked Prim's curiosity. "What do ya mean Grams?" She asked turning around in her seat to look at her grandmother.

Mrs. Melkark redirected her eyes to her granddaughter and smiled tightly, "Don't you mind that, dear. I'm sure if you get the chance to meet one, you'll be delighted... The creatures seemed to love your father and uncles..."

"Can we cut it out with the pixies already? I think it's time we talked about how we plan to manage the sleeping accommodations. The cottage only has three bedrooms, after all." Interrupted Peeta brusquely. Effie unfazed by the rude display, graciously changed the topic.

"There's a pull-out couch in the sitting room... And I think that if two or more people bunk together in one bed we can accommodate everyone just fine." said Effie diplomatically.

"If one of the boys takes the sitting room, the other two can take their old bedroom, you Effie dear, of course take your mother's and Prim and I can share!" said Mrs. Mellark promptly.

"How about we let Peeta decide what he wants to do with his child, momma?" warned Bill, looking back at the rest of the van's passengers. His mother only pursed her lips and folded her arms petulantly and resumed her cold stare out the window.

The conversation died finally, the silence in the van was tensed, but it seemed that the quiet suited everyone.

 

==================

 

"Highness! Highness, they're back!" The wiry pixie ran into the shooting range area as fast as her legs allowed, she nearly collided with Commander Boggs, but luckily caught herself just in time. The pixie warrior just gave the youngster a disapproving glare, and motion her to back off, but the Princess had heard and seen the small commotion from her spot on the practice range. 

She quickly released the arrow she had been about to shoot, sinking it deep into the bullseye, and without even looking at the shaft wobbled in place, she turned on her heels and pulled away from the shooting line quickly.

"What is the meaning of this interruption? I'm in the middle of my training!" She said firmly but there was no anger behind her tone, just mild annoyance.

"M'Lady, the humans are back in their dwelling! Arrived recently... There is at least one child amongst them." said the pixie excitedly. The Princess' eyes lighted up at the news. She had been so sad when the boys left and never came back, it wasn't that there weren't any other children around their territory, but, meaningful encounters with children in need of anything were few and far between and then deserving human adults were even more scarce, not that there weren't any, they just weren't enough. As pixies they were bound to help small grassland creatures, but those weren't blessed with the ability of speech, and although communication with humans was very one sided, pixies could hear humans just fine, the problem was having them listening back, unless they were the same size, and becoming human size was a draining endeavor, it could only be done for so long before a pixie's limited and primitive magic reserves ran out and it had to rush back home to the where the heart of their dwelling could restore their strength.

"Lady Katniss... I know what you are thinking, and the answer is going to be 'No'" said Boggs in a matter-of-fact tone. "Your mother would not approve of a visit to the humans without a proper reason, and as of now, there is no reason at all."

Katniss scowled. "I just want to see who they all are! My Boy with the Bread might be with them! sixteen years I've waited to see him again, to make sure his needs and those of his brothers' are being met, that's reason enough!" She said as if trying to convince the pixie before her, but he was not the one needing convincing.

"My Lady, for humans, sixteen years is a very long time... Humans grow old, change, evolve... What that boy was then, may not be who he is now and the sooner you see him as an adult, the sooner your attachment for him will dissipate until it's gone completely, you know our laws, your Highness, a Pixie..."

"Cannot love a grown human... I know!" Interrupted Katniss frustratedly. "Friendships can last many years, you know, Commander. Look at how close me and Epona have been, and I'be known her since birth!" Reasoned the Princess crossing her arms over her chest.

"Right... Epona is a wild pony mistress, horses and humans are different beasts" Explained Boggs patiently, Katniss huffed impatiently. 

"Fine... Have it your way, I will go to Mother and communicate to her my intentions, she will not find fault in my plans you will see!" 

So that night, after the Queen had ordered her daughter to stay away from the human house, she did what she'd always done: flew out there anyway.

The window to the upper level was opened as usual, she entered without a problem, she grew excited seeing the heads full of ashy blond waves, they were a bit shorter and thicker than she remembered, and when she came closer to their faces, she noticed they were no longer childlike, the round cheeks and noses were gone, replaced by slender cheekbones and sharp jawlines, one of the faces was even bearded! The other one, although not completely hairy, was starting to get covered by a thin layer of stubble. Her shoulders droop. The boys were men now, _Boggs had been right then,_ but neither one was _Peeta_ , her _Boy with the Bread,_ she remembers his name fondly and a smile creeps up on her face; she still lingered around curiously peeking into suitcases and bags all around the room. She then sat on the night stand, and walked around the artifacts the boys... _Men_ , had left there on the surface. She looked at each piece with curious interest as if she was strolling around a museum, there were sets of plain looking keys, leather bound rectangular cases filled with smaller rectangular plastic things she vaguely recalled were called credit cards, inside the wallets, she saw a couple of pictures of people she did not recognized, and in another compartment she found paper that she recognized as the notes humans used for currency, pounds they called them, she had no the foggiest idea why, _they were made out of paper! Humans are silly that way._ There was also an enormous wrist watch that she spent and inordinate amount of time studying, and when she moved on, she was most surprised to find closed by a round gold band she knew from widow Seeder to be a wedding ring. Did one of the boys wedded? She found no indication of whether or not her boy was in the cottage in this room, so she left it by getting flat on her stomach and army-crawling under the closed door. She visited the other bedrooms, and recognized the 'witch' even thought she had aged; in the other room, she found funny how the occupant was wearing her hair in a weird net and over the vanity was a faceless bust with fake orange hair on it, she laughed heartily at the funny fake hair, as she pulled one curl and it bounced back up surprising her. She thought to herself that _humans_ are _very strange creatures indeed._

She felt disappointed when she realized there were no more rooms up there to visit and none of the humans she saw were her Boy, she would have gone home if it wasn't for the sound of someone sobbing quietly on the lower level. She descended the staircase; gliding slowly hidden behind the handrail bobbing her head over it every so often just enough to make sure the coast was clear.

She gasped when she saw a small head of golden hair spilled on a pillow, on a bed in the middle of the spacious room down stairs. Her heart started beating faster than ever. _Could this be him? Was that a possibility...? For a human to remain a child while the others grew old?_ But she noticed the hair was a long sheet of soft straight tresses, they belonged to a child, but not _her_ boy... This was a _girl_ , not much older than her boy had been the last time she saw him; cautiously, Katniss approached her and realized the child was sleeping a fitful sleep by the flutter of her eyelids and her erratic breathing. The girl was laying on her side, so Katniss sat on the child's shoulder and leaned as low as she could towards her ear, she sang her a lullaby as loudly as she possibly could, and somehow it must've worked because the girl exhaled a breath, and her eyes stopped the incessant moving, her breathing leveled and there was even a soft smile on her cute face. Deeming her job done for the night, assisting a child that needed her help, she was heading back up the stairs.

Another soft sob came from further ahead, she wondered if another human was there; she found a closed door down the hall, and sure enough, light was spilling out from under it. Same as before, she got flat on her tummy and slipped under the barrier, to her surprise she found she was in the loo. The owner of the sob sat on the toilet, but a most curious thing, he was fully clothed, with a very snug white t-shirt and plaid flannel pants, his face was hidden in both his hands, his elbows resting on top of his knees, and the mess of wavy ashy blond locks sticking every which way had her holding her breath. Katniss was almost certain this was him, Peeta, her boy with bread, now turned man.

She promptly found a spot to sit down from where she could spy him without him seeing her, it was easier said than done with such bright noticeable wings, but she found a small nook on top of the medicine cabinet. She sat hugging her knees to her chest for a very long while, and just watched the man cry until it seemed he was out if tears to shed. She wondered _what could be making him so sad?_ A startling thought made her shift unconsciously and too quickly, almost knocking her off the cabinet, remembering the wedding band in the room above them, she quickly peered down at his hands but found no trace of rings there.

When the man was done crying, he stood up from his perch, turned around where he was standing, then pulled open the lid of the toilet and, ' _Oh heavens! Is that what a human man hides in his trousers?_ ' to Katniss everlasting embarrassment, the man pulled out his appendage from inside his pants, and pointed it into the hollow of the toilet, releasing a spurt of some yellowish-clear liquid into the ceramic bowl... She had tried to cover her face, feeling it heat up and turn red, but the noise of liquid falling into water, made her look curiously. She had heard of how humans expelled excess waste from their bodies, pixies had other methods, so it was fascinating seeing it happening... But then she remembered where the waste liquid was coming from, and a wave of embarrassment washed over her. She covered her face tightly between her arms, and almost missed the moment the man washed his hands and headed out into the living areas.

She only caught a quick glance of his face, but _the eyes are his, Peeta's!_ she has no doubts anymore, she flutters behind him at a reasonable distance, looking around for hiding spots, should she need to dive into one suddenly, but the man that is Peeta now, walks deliberately ' _and rather loudly... Ugh, every step he takes, makes the floorboards groan'_  in the direction of the bed where the little human is sleeping. Katniss hides behind an old picture frame and only sticks her head around it to see what's happening.

She watches in confusion how he lowers himself into the bed next to the sleeping child, ' _and he has got to weigh millions of pounds, because the bed groans noisily under his weight as well'_ ; the way his face contorts and how he bites his lower lip as he winces, tells Katniss he's aware of all the noise he's making. But the damage is done; the child on the other side of the bed lifts her head groggily and mutters in a scratchy voice.

"Daddy? Is it morning yet?"

' _Daddy??? Is this his child?_ ' Katniss is now practically hanging from the side of the frame she's hiding behind, as she tries to look at the girl as she speaks.

"No, pumpkin, go back to sleep, it's just a bit past midnight." Peeta answers in a soothing whisper. ' _Oh, blessed be Cernenus... What kind of human possesses such a deep voice?'_

"Ok" says the child and mindlessly turns over to continue sleeping. Peeta sighs and pulls up the covers leaning back to get under them, when the girl's muffled voice speaks up. "Since you're up, mind getting me some water?"

Peeta sighs again, and fully sits up, "Sure... anything else?"

"Mmm... You can rub my back until I fall asleep again..." The girl says and then giggles when she peeks a blue eye at her dad who's making a disapproving face. Katniss stays until both humans are fast asleep to get out of her hiding place, and hover over them both.

She's studying Peeta's face, intently looking for little details that had remained from her Boy with the Bread in this adult version of him, there are things that are the same, but the features are almost all gone, erased by time. Her tiny hand scoops a handful of his hair from one single lock fallen on his forehead, she plans on brushing the whole thing back, it doesn't matter if it'll take her all night to do so, but someone clears her voice behind her and she startles dropping the golden hair and flying up a foot towards the ceiling, she quickly turns around and realizes she left her bow behind the picture frame. It matters not, she's not in danger. It's just her mother... her wings flapping measuredly to keep he afloat,  unreadable expression on her face.

"So, you have seen them now." the Queen states. Katniss nods. "They're adults, they can care for their own as well as themselves; they need the pixies no more, Katniss. So, if you have had your fill of watching them, it's time to return home."

"I... Could I, possibly stay a bit longer... I just..."

"He's not a child anymore Katniss, he grew up, he can't see you unless it is imperative, it's time for you to let him go, and be who you shall be away from this place."

"Mother! But... What if he saw me now? He might like me now and might ask me to stay with him?"

"Katniss, what empathy you felt with the human, you are not allowed to feel any longer as a grown up. You know that, everyone knows that, it will not do for you to linger about him; he clearly outgrew the pixies, and has a youngling of his own. You know the rules, unless they need our help, we cannot seek them out. Come now!" Katniss knew there was no more arguing, so she finally flew behind the picture frame and picked up her forgotten bow. A moment later, the two winged creatures left the cottage one trailing after the other. Neither of them had taken noticed of how a pair of Forget-me-not blue eyes had been peering at them fluttering in midair. The young girl suspected she had just seen pixies, and if she had been less sleepy than she actually was, she would have at least called her Daddy awake for confirmation, but... She only dropped her blond head and closed her heavy eyes, and dreamt of funny looking butterflies with what seemed like human bodies.

 

================

 

Effie and the Mellarks had non-verbally agreed to team up and clean up the cottage. It was a long grueling process, Aunt Mags had amassed a large collection of miscellaneous knick-knacks over the years and her house was littered with them... Granted most of them were displayed tastefully, and the  place didn't feel cluttered for the most part, unless you looked in the narrow attic above the house; only little Prim was able to slip between the boxes upon boxes of stored treasure, so up she went. Mrs. Mellark wasn't very keen on the idea of young Prim poking around where no adults had eyes on her, but she had no choice in the matter.

The girl was no dummy though, she would not open any boxes herself, merely pushed them over to the lip of the pull-down ladder leading to the attic and let the others carry them down and peruse through their contents. Most, were simply more mementos from travels and people, their value was probably more sentimental than monetary, and since the one who placed the value on them was decidedly not coming back, they all agreed to just put the lot in the bin; after all, there must've been a reason why the things had found a permanent place, stored up there anyways.

They came across a box filled with toys, old fashion toys, the tin and winding-up type of toys, rusted and decaying and quite possibly coated with lead paint products. There wasn't much to be salvaged from the box, except for a teensy, miniature porcelain tea set, that cousin Effie couldn't even place in her memory. Prim took a liking to the set, and meticulously got to clean it up with a Q-tip and some lukewarm soapy water. She looked serious as she worked at the tiny pieces, the tip of her tongue sticking at the corner of her mouth, pressed between her lips. Her uncle Rye found her concentration quite adorable and amusing.

"What ya doing there kiddo?" He asked while dropping another box of unsalvageable items on top of the ever growing pile of garbage.

"Just thought to wash this out..." Prim shrugged noncommittally.

"You keeping a little souvenir, huh? Good for you, baby girl!" Rye winked at his niece and went to the refrigerator to rummage around for something to drink.

"Mmm... Nah... Not really." She put down the tiny saucer she had just scrubbed clean and looked at her uncle with a non-verbal question in her gaze. "Uncle Rye? Those stories about the Pixies... Are they real? I mean, are _they_  real, and did you guys really meet them?" She bit her lip expectantly, Rye took a long pull out of the bottle of Guinness he had just opened, then gave his niece a long, penetrating look, after a moment of him studying the girl, he nodded slowly.

"The blue little people are real, alright. Your daddy was the one that was the most invested in the friendship, though. He had met the Princess and had a big ol' crush on 'er. Lasted for years... Until he met your momma... Then it was bye-bye little boy crush."

"Mmm... He... He doesn't like talking about the pixies, isn't he. He always says he's not sure he didn't just imagine the whole thing up."

"I know. I don't really know what to tell ya darlin', but, it's better to keep your pretty little mind open, no matter what... Life might surprise you!" Her uncle said with a soft smile.

"So... Um, I was thinking... If I ever wanted to meet one, what would I need to do? I've heard the story about the gift you guys made for them, but... I'm not that great at building stuff... So..." She pointed at the small tea set she had been working on, and Rye looked at her with understanding downing in his face, he gave her a bright grin, before mimicking the overly affected accent Effie always spoke with, 

"I think we better get the tea service ready madam! We don't wanna be late for afternoon tea!" One blue eye winked and the girl giggled happily. She knew Rye had been the right person to bring this up to.

So, that afternoon, Prim donned her best sundress, combed her long golden locks into a low ponytail and with the help of her uncle Rye, ran to the closeby menhir, bearing her offering of tiny china set, with minute chunks of scones and a regular size mug full of piping hot earl grey tea.

"Alright baby girl... This show is all yours, pumpkin." encouraged Rye. He turned away giving the girl some space. But when he was about 4 ft. away, he called her name, "Prim..." The girl turned to look at her uncle, "Don't be disappointed if they don't come out. They didn't do it for us until we actually needed them." Prim nodded in understanding, her uncle turned on his heel and jogged casually back to the cottage.

It was a very nice day out. The sun was low and warm, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue scattered with fluffy clouds; there was a comfortable breeze, making the heather surrounding the girl sway softly back and forth, like waves of rippling light greens and golden browns, it was peaceful and beautiful; Prim closed her eyes and extended her arms wide open, taking the peacefulness in, after a moment, she opened her eyes and squared her shoulders, she marched up to a few feet away from the spot her uncle indicated, and took a sharp mouthful of air.

"Honorable Pixie folk of the rock, my name is Primrose Mellark, and I bring you a gift of tea and... Um... Little whatever they're called..." she groaned silently to herself, "Scon-ces?" She asked herself trying to remember, "Yeah! Sconces!" She said triumphantly with a bright smile across her face.

Nothing happened.

She waited a while, but still, nothing happened. The wind continued making the tall grasses dance around her, the sun was still warm and sitting low, and _nothing_... Happened!

Prim remembered what Rye said, so she let her shoulders sag a bit. "Fine... It's... It's ok if you don't wanna come and get the stuff while I'm still standing here... I get it! I just think you may wanna know, that I am indeed needy. I'm not in immediate danger or anything bad, but... My mom left me and my dad when I was like seven months old, and I've only seen her a couple of times after that, and she comes around there's always screaming and fights and Daddy just seems like a different person..." She pauses to fidget to her fingers nervously for a moment, "I love my dad, he's the best, but he wants us to move to New York City, and if we do, that means I'll be more alone than ever because I don't know anybody in New York, all my family and friends are in Panem, my home is in Panem, but Daddy has got to do whatever is best for the whole family, and I guess that means taking me away from all I've ever know, which wouldn't be **that** bad if it wasn't for that horrible woman Clove Fuhrman, who my Daddy intends to marry come this fall... She’s _terrible_ , her voice is so annoying and she hates me! I’ve tried telling my Daddy, but he always says that I’m only complaining because grandma has filled my head with bad thoughts about Clove and I should give her a chance and whatever... But, I just..." Prim fell to her haunches, sighing. "Look... I'm just lonely... I know daddy loves me, and I love him, my grandma loves me too, and so does my uncles, and my aunt Vinie and everyone else... But... I do feel lonely and sad... a lot..." All her energy seemed to have been zapped out of her as she finished her story, pulling at a clump of grass near the toe of her boot.

She waited a bit longer. The menhir remained as quiet and still as ever, standing indifferent to the tsunami of a rant the young girl had just unleashed on it. She sighed again and stood up. She brushed off the bit of dirt and dry pieces if grass the hem of her skirt had collected.

"Alright..." She finally spoke, "I guess it's time for me to go back... Your tea is getting cold... My cousin Effie says it's ' _bad form_ ' to let perfectly good tea go to waste by letting it get cold... She says that drinking cold tea is an 'abdomination' or some big word like that, I think she means it's bad to drink _cold_ hot tea, which is weird because my favorite beverage in the whole world is sweet tea... But I guess you wouldn't know anything about it unless you're from the Deep South of the US of A, and I guess..." The barrage of words stopped abruptly, when a loud male voice startled her mid sentence,

"Prim! What are you doing out there? Come back inside, it's getting dark out!" the voice of her father rang clear in the grassy spanned between him and the menhir. He sounded a bit annoyed too, so she decided it was best to go back home right away.

She returned her eyes to the stone in front of her, "Anyway... Thanks for listening, even if you didn't talk back with me. It was nice being out here. Hope you like the tea and the little biscuit thingies... I made them... With help from my uncle Rye. Um... We're a family of bakers, but, I want to be a pediatrician when I grow up..."

"Prim!" Her father called impatiently.

"Ok... Gotta go... Bye!" She whispered breathlessly, and turning around took off running to meet her daddy who was half way there to the stone structure. "Coming Daddy!" She tossed into the air as she hopped and ran before reaching him.

After they were a few feet away and their backs turned to the stone, a few dozen pixies peeked their heads from around the hidey-holes about the area. One was brave enough to completely leave his spot and take the few steps to the mug of tea sitting on the ground not far from a styrofoam circle that sat on the short grass right at the very entrance to their home under the rock. A couple other pixies joined him, curiously. And finally, the flapping flutter of wings was heard above the rest of the blue creatures; Katniss flew straight out of the shadows and simply hovered a good 3 ft from the ground over the spot where Prim had been sat on the ground just a minute earlier. She saw the two humans reunite a few yards away.

“M’Lady... what shall we do with the offerings?” asked the first pixie. She diverted her gaze, looking back quickly at the male pixie who now had managed to climb up the slick handle of the mug, and was currently leaning deep into the rim taking deep breaths of the steaming beverage. After a second, she returned her eyes to the humans and said almost dismissively,

“Well it seems we are having a proper cuppa this afternoon, Mr Dalton. Give the order for it to be taken inside!” The other pixies cheered and danced at the approval... Everybody knows pixies have ghastly root tea that tastes like mulch and even worse scones to go with it, so it was no surprise the pixies were eager to accept the gift from the humans.

Katniss spared a momentary glance at her celebrating compatriots, before returning her sight to her Boy with the Bread who didn't spare her a backwards glance, something that just that morning would have made her chest constrict in pain, she noticed she really did not mind his indifference anymore... but the kid, she did turn to look back, and for a tiny second, Katniss thought she had caught the girls eye, but the forget-me-not blue of her eyes, so much like those she remembered the Boy with the Bread fixated at her, flitted her gaze too fast to confirm. She finally felt the love she had saved for her golden human disappear, her mother was right all along, Peeta was a grown man, he had lost his innocence when he became someone's father, she had know this too, but had held hope, after all, sixteen years, had she been waiting to just see him, but pixies could not love grown humans, they could only feel empathy for them, still her feelings had shifted, because love truly cannot die, it can only evolve, change, her love had found someone else to fixate on, it  latched onto the next child available... The girl who shared her father's blue eyes and have experienced the sadness of a lifetime in a very short time. The Princess had found a new object for her affections, the girl name Primrose, and this time she was going to do whatever it took to preserve their connection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tor: Large, free-standing rock outcrop, that rises from otherwise smooth surroundings, mostly found in Devon, England. Unlike menhirs and henge, the tors are natural rock formations product of erosion and weathering and not the product of human builders.
> 
> Cernenus: Cernunnos. Celtic god of virility, life and death, fertility, hunt, earth, underworld. Symbolizes the dark part of the year (winter). Usually depicted naked, with either horns or antlers on his head. The Celtics considered him a benevolent god, but Christians adapted his intimidating imagery to depict the Devil. 
> 
> So, a 'cuppa' is the informal way of saying "a cup of tea" in Britain. Katniss and the pixies are supposed to be English in this story, since they live in... England... So, I might try to keep the lingo as closed to British as I can when she's talking (or thinking) the rest should have a more soft southern flare to it, since they're from NC and all, because North Carolina IS part of the south for all ye nay Sayers! 
> 
> My son started Pre-K yesterday... I can't believe he's a big boy who goes to school now, it was a big day for me and my husband and I'm not lying when I say I took about 100 pictures of him bravely climbing on the tall steps of his school bus... I'm so proud if my boy, he never once looked scared or sad, and he came back excited saying that he would go back today, it was a good first day! I just hope he didn't find any school mate's singing voice too endearing, I don't think I want him to become a _goner_ as a preschooler like a certain blond little boy we all know and love! 
> 
> I might take a bit to update this story, I will be updating the final chapter of The Concubine most likely by Friday, and hopefully I'll post the Epilogue soon after. Thank you for reading this or that story, I treasure your support.
> 
> Now, Be kind, review... Also, I'm in tumblr now! alliswell21.tumblr.com look me up and say hi!


	3. Primrose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Recognizable Characters belong to the owners of THG series and SC. 
> 
> Special thanks to Loving_Mellark, who's talents seem to improve each passing day! I still think that your banner is the prettiest thing, A!
> 
> And since this is a collaborative work, I would like to give credit to my Devon consultant and British linguist specialist Shellibug, thank you dear! Your help is highly appreciated; and a to my newly acquired Beta S... Who I think I will call "Jack", since I think I like calling girls boy names... You girls are as sweet a sugar cubes! Watch out for would be Finnick Odairs!

 

Three days of deep cleaning Auntie Mags' cottage had yielded 7 trash bags full of clothing to be donated; 14 boxes of useless little mementos and artifacts to be disposed of; another 2 boxes full of shoes, and other footwear also to be donated; about 10 more trash bags filled with miscellaneous trash, from tattered and patched clothes, old newspapers, magazines, greeting cards upon greetings cards from every occasion, letters, drawings, and other papery things, they found tucked in a chest up in the attic. There were at least 20 photo albums, Bill suggested all the pictures be scanned and saved into hard drives for posterity, but Effie decided to stick with the old fashion prints. Besides some little treasures they could not bear to toss out, they also found a very extensive collection of vinyl records and cassette tapes, ranging from classical music to 80's circa pop music. This, everyone concurred, to convert to the digital era, in conjunction with a few family movies they had discovered in a memory box stored inside the wardrobe in Aunt Mags' bedroom.

Besides the special finds the group had yielded from the attic, they disturbed years and years of accumulated dust and brought upon themselves a crazy case of dust allergies that plagued Prim the worst. It was a very gloomy dusk, when the cleaning crew had to stop their progress by another bout of violent sneezing from the youngest Mellark. She had taken to wearing a dampened pink bandana over her nose and mouth while working up in the dusty attic; it was not foolproof, and worked mostly on keeping her from inhaling the exacerbating particles for the most part, but sometimes it was just no use.

"Can I just please take a break and go out into the fields for some fresh air?" asked Primrose between sneezes and coughs. Her eyes were watering and itching terribly.

Peeta wasn't very happy about his family encouraging her budding interest for the mystical pixies; he had been reticent at best about the subject, but all she wanted to speak about were the blasted pixies. He decided that allowing her to indulge any further into that nonsense wasn't completely healthy, and he told her so.

"You can go out until the dust settles and we can vacuum up and wipe down most of it; but I don't want you going to the menhirs. You can find enough nature around here to keep you entertained for hours."

"But... I want to go to the menhir! I think it'll be fun! I might be able to see the pixies like you and Uncles Bill and Rye did, you know. You can even sit by and say hi to your old friend!

"That's enough, Prim!" he exclaimed harshly. Prim did not argue anymore about the topic. Her Daddy rarely got angry, especially at her.

She had been taken aback by his outburst and managed a weak, "I'm sorry, Daddy" before slumping her shoulders dejectedly.

Peeta took a deep, regretful sigh before scrubbing his face with his left hand, "Look, Prim, I just don't want you to invest all your time and effort in something as ephemeral as pixies, wishing they're real is one thing, imagining you could even interact with them is alright, but believing that all that can come true is just... a dream!"

His gaze is sincere and pleading and it confuses Prim, because she doesn't understand what he means or why he says this stuff, but he's not done, after another loaded intake of breath he says, "I just simply want you to keep your two feet steadily rooted in reality, to not get your hopes up and set your heart on something that would ultimately crush your innocence and leave you disappointed. Does that make any sense?" His eyes search his daughter's face for a moment, until she nods slightly, not as much confused as she was, but more like curious as to what could have disappointed her Daddy this much that he really doesn’t want her to get close to the menhir.

"Are they real?" she ask him in the smallest of whispers. He gives a frustrated sigh before responding.

"They are as real as people believe they are," he says curtly, his tone doesn't deter her at all.

"How about you, Daddy? Do you believe they're re...?"

"What I believe isn't relevant; what's important is that you will be much better off if you don't dwell on the notion and dreams of meeting 'em. Now, go on and get out of the cottage until we can get all this dust sorted out!" He pats her on the head fondly, his voice softening. Prim slouches away from the dust more confused than ever.

 

==================

 

Prim tries to make her daddy happy and stays away from the rock structure for the most part; she does, however, look in its direction quite constantly, longing in her gaze and sadness in her lonely vigil. Katniss had kept her eye on the Mellark child just as often, and she has perfected the art of remaining inconspicuous while erratically zapping from flower to flower, pretending to be a mindless, common butterfly fluttering in the air while in the open, but at night, she allows herself to get closer to the cottage, just close enough.

Meanwhile, the attic has been almost completely cleared out of the years upon years of Aunt Mags' forgotten little treasures. The place was surprisingly cozy after it had been emptied, there was a layer of discolored wood flooring, and even one window that had been blocked and obscured by the many boxes in the small space. The window itself was a treasure of its own: it was round like a ship's porthole, with a working lock that actually allowed for the panel to open out, and the glass panel was actually a stain glass depiction of a whimsical creature--a pixie dressed in all blue, sitting bareback on a fat looking pony. In reality, the only reason Prim had decided this was a pixie was because of the disproportionate sizes of the pony's body compared to the one of the humanoid figure: the head was bigger than the rest of the creature's body, and it was seated almost all the way back on the horse's hind muscles, legs crisscrossed on themselves and arms bracing backwards on the pony. There was a grin on the little creature's face.

The discovery of the attic porthole made Effie tear up and laugh at the same time. She explained that, indeed, it was the picture of a pixie on a wild Dartmoor pony, a kind of a folkloric typical image. The artwork was actually hers from when she was a child. She painted it to surprise her mum on a Christmas morning the year her father had passed away, leaving them both the only family to each other. She shared how the picture had been a hit with Mags, making her smile for longer than Effie could remember before tragedy had come calling at their small house.

Since the attic was clear of clutter and actually spacious, each one of the adults took turns to go up there to see the small work of art. It was actually Mrs. Mellark who lifted open the small latch locking the window shut. She placed a hand on the panel and it gave way effortlessly. Prim had been there and saw it with giddiness. She stuck her head through the new open way, and saw that there was a small ledge right in front of it.

"Oh, look, Grandma! I think I can fit through here and sit right there! I can pretend to be a gargoyle or something!" she giggled pointing a finger to the ledge.

Mrs. Mellark sharply told her to not be so silly, and ordered her back in, but Prim was too excited. She could see so much of the magical expanse of landscape to pay attention to her grandmother's warnings. You see, unlike the Mellark boys, who by the age of twelve were all stocky built, solid, heavy and broad-shouldered from developing baker's muscles, and feared their mother to death, obeying her every command; Prim, was a big contrast if ever there was one, was slender, nimble and all limbs, she lacked the all-freezing fear Mrs. Mellark had instilled in her children that brought them to fall into step with her demands; Prim knew not how to stay put once her mind was made. It wasn't difficult for her to stick one leg out the hole, crouch and duck her head in as well, and then she was sliding outside of the attic and into the very narrow ledge on the top of the roof easily.

"PRIMROSE!" Her grandmother bellowed beside herself, she quickly threw her arm through the opening, but she was much bigger than the girl, and her vision was compromised when only one eye was able to peer outside while the rest of her body was blocking the window. She tried to grasp the girl's tank top, but only managed to scratch her arm with her nails in the process. Prim yelped, and instinctively bounced out of reach, misstepping on the roof’s exposed rafter. Her foot twisted and she lost her balance. Then, she was plummeting fast towards the ground.

 

==================

 

Prim woke up with a start. She lay on the sofa in the living room of the cottage, and she's confused because the last thing she remembers is her grandma shrieking her name as the air rushed all around her, compressing her body as it swiftly cut through it. But, as she slowly sat up, more images rushed back to mind: her hands flapping helplessly, her pink Chuck Taylor clad feet in front of her same as her hands; and behind them, the blue sky and the retreating rooftop.

She knew for a fact, falling off the roof had happened. How was it that she was laying there, with nothing broken and all her limbs accounted for? She wasn't even sore! She should at least have a raging headache, if nothing else! But the angry voices outside finally broke through the ten thousand questions in her head, bringing her out of her state of confusion, at least momentarily. She can't make out what is being said, or by whom, but she does know they're screaming at each other at the top of their lungs, and she's curious! She gingerly stands, and slowly creeps her way to the front window. She's glad the windows are covered by lacy curtains and she's positive she can hide her presence for a bit while she spies.

She's shocked by what she sees though: all the adults are out in the front overgrown garden about twenty feet away from the front door. Most of them are just standing there with their mouths wide open and disbelieving looks all over their faces. Her grandmother is shockingly keeping her mouth clasped in a thin line, but the way her forehead and nose wrinkle in disgust and her arms are tightly locked over her chest, tells a whole story Prim just doesn't have the time to piece together. Because in the middle of the whole thing, she can see her Daddy and a woman with skin slightly tinged blue with the most incredible sheer wings that flap uncontrollably every time she screams at her Dad, protruding out of her back. Both of them are using their arms to widely gesture in big berths of movement, every so often they jab an accusing finger in the other's direction, and their faces are soooo close to each other. She has no idea why they think there's a need for raising their voices like that. After all, their noses are practically touching! They would definitely hear the other, even if they were whispering.

Before thinking any better, Prim has rushed to the door and yanked it open. That's when she finally hears part of the angry exchange.

"...There is no fucking way I'm allowing you to take my daughter!"

"Aaaargh!!!" The blue woman half groans, half screams in indignation. Her feet are not even touching the ground. She shoots erratically up into the air, flies to the small gate entrance to the half-wall stone fence surrounding the cottage, and then shoots right back to Peeta, all in the short span of three seconds, then she's screaming again right in his face.

"How many times should I tell you people, I am not a bloody FAIRY?! I do not _take_ children away from their parents! I simply protect them from neglect... and clearly there is a sizable helping of neglect here!" She hisses at him. Peeta's mouth opens and closes at the accusation, his face is red with anger, and finally his hands roll into fists that he holds stiffly at his sides. He leans forward menacingly and in a very low growl he responds,

"Neglect? You can't be serious, ' _your highness'_! You abandoned me when I needed you most! If you're going to accuse someone of being neglectful, then I have a fucking mirror inside I can lend you, so you can see your own reflection in it while you point your finger to say that about someone!"

Katniss' face contorts into a grimace, but everyone can clearly see the moment her shoulders drop in defeat. He won the round.

Her feet touch the ground softly, her sparkly sheer wings stop fluttering about, and fold. Her face falls and her eyes slowly drop from his own. There's pain in her features when she finally speaks, her eyes fixed on the cobbled path leading to the house's front door.

"I didn't abandon you, Peeta. You refused my presence when you were a boy, and then when you called me again..." Her eyes cut tentatively back to his, "You weren't a helpless child anymore; you did have your family to rely on, plus, you were in America. There was no easy way for me to reach you there... and then you stopped calling me..." Her voice sounds full of regret and sadness and even longing. Her eyes left his face once more.

"I was seventeen! I was still a child, even by your standards! You turned your back on me and I can never forgive you or trust you!" His tone was icy and cutting, he delivered every word like it was a punch and they landed square on her stomach, every single one of them.

"I didn't turn my back on you, Peeta. You just moved on and outgrew me. There was nothing I could do to bring you back to me. And maybe you were seventeen when you finally called me, but...there was no innocence lingering in your voice, I had no idea why... but, now I know." Her voice is calm and sad as she explains, "When you become responsible for another person's well-being, you stop being a child altogether. I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything for you then, but I can do something for the little girl now. And, this time...this time I will stick around for her." She finally rise her gaze, and her steely gray eyes meet his forget-me-not blue ones. There was a fierceness in hers that told him she was serious, and he was not going to persuade her otherwise, though he still tried.

"Well, we don't need you! I can take care of my child all by myself!" He knew he sounded petulant, but he didn't care.

"Why don't you ask her what she wants, before deciding on her behalf? She's been standing right there for the past 5 minutes and none of you humans have even noticed her. I could overlook it when she was spying on the window under the cover of the curtains, but she's been actually gawking at us here in the open, and her heart has been pounding loudly the whole time, I'm surprised not one of you noticed." She gave them all a sweeping look, before landing her eyes on Prim's startled face.

Everyone had been sporting the same confused and quizzical expression, they were mildly surprised to see Prim up and about, probably still in a haze of confusion over the presence of the pixie among them. Mrs. Mellark made a choked sound before reaching her arms to crush the girl to her chest, guttural sobs accompany the many apologies that fell from the older lady's lips as she buried her face into the soft blond hair of her granddaughter. Peeta stood there, dumbly watching, not moving a muscle.

"It's ok, Grandma... Don't cry... Um, I don't even know what's going on..." she says patting her grandmother's back while shyly sneaking curious glances at Katniss. She was well aware what she was, but her certainty of knowing the winged creature that was now nervously fidgeting with the frills from the torn hem of her soft linen brownish pixie clothing, was quickly fading into several questions. Prim gave her father an inquisitive look, and realized she wasn't getting any answers from him... or her uncles for that matter, both of them, unlike Peeta were just gaping at the pixie with their jaws hanging completely open; her grandmother was no good either, which left Effie to explain what had Prim woken up to.

Dislodging from her grandmother's embrace, she walked to stand beside Effie, who actually didn't look outlandishly out of place even wearing her bright orange wig, when there was a real, human-size, slightly blue, winged pixie hovering anxiously merely few steps away. Prim didn't even try to mask how she eyed the strange being when she made her short walk towards her distant cousin.

"Um... Effie...why is there a woman with actually-working butterfly wings in the middle of the garden?" Her very blue eyes openly gave Katniss a critical once over, while the pixie wrung her hands nervously, her wings picking up speed as the girl frowned looking at her from head to toe-boot.

"Oh... Uh... Well, dear... You see, uh, you fell from the attic window, and... This nice, here, uh...  _pixie_ , just sort of swooped in and... Well, your precious self never touched the ground." Effie stammered through an explanation as best as she could, her accent was so thick and she was so flustered as she spoke, Prim had a really hard time guessing what her cousin just said. Nevertheless, her eyes were still glued to the fluttering woman, until something registered and she turned to Effie with a start.

"I fell out of the attic! I remember losing my footing and tumbling down from the roof, but how did I not break my neck? I mean, you said that the, um, _pixie_ swooped in... What does that mean?" She studied Effie's face, and then looked at the other adults silently asking for the explanation to that same question. None was forthcoming.

"Um... H-hi..." Katniss rapidly fluttered her way in front of Prim and waved a hand shyly, "Uh, H-hello, young lady, I am Katniss. I saw you plummet from up there," she nervously pointed a finger upwards, signaling the rooftop. "I'm a pixie. Pixies protect children in need or in danger. So, I...swooped in..." She trailed off lamely making a weak swooping gesture with her hand and giving her a nervous halfhearted laugh. The sound of the laugh, weak as it was, hit Peeta right in his stomach, the sound of bells tingling was all too familiar to him, and he had to shake his head to fight the fog out of his brain.

"Mmm, O...K..." Prim dragged the k, and then fixed the pixie with a suspicious narrow-eye stare, "You don't look like all the pixie pictures I've seen. Effie says you guys don't have wings and are very small, so you can hide almost anywhere." Her chin jutted out daringly, so Katniss took a mouthful of air, and gave Prim a small smile.

"Ms. Effie would be right...at least partly!" She shot the woman a bright smile, and settled her feet on the ground for the first time since she flew to meet Prim, her wings curtly flap once, before folding and remain unmoving. "Most Pixies lack wings, but a few of us, usually royalty, are blessed with them." She smile widely at Prim for a moment and then continue, "We Pixies can use our magic to make ourselves bigger when necessary... How would you expect a moth sized person to catch you in midair and bring you safely to the ground? We would have been both squished into the dirt if I hadn't adjusted my size!"

"Your Highness! Don't tell my daughter that! She's got a very impressionable and over active imagination!" hissed Peeta in protest but Prim ignored him, even though Katniss had not, she cringe at Peeta's chiding.

The girl stepped closer in Katniss' direction and then mused, "Well, you’re not very big..."

"Or particularly pretty!" muttered Mrs. Mellark under her breath garnering unbelieving, shocked stares from all three of her sons plus Effie's. She only shrugged and gave the pixie a disdainful glance, before plopping down on an old garden bench.

Katniss chose to fight the urge to glare at the Mellark matron, and kept a slight smile directed at Prim when slowly answering, "No, I guess I am not as tall as some human women are, and maybe I am thinner than most as well... But, it’s not too extreme either." Prim interrupted her.

"So... You have magic, you are a Princess, you can fly and you rescue kids... What else can you do?" She questioned with a curious risen eyebrow.

"I can do all sorts of tricks, really. I can talk to moorland creatures and usually understand their noises, it's a nuisance they cannot speak in an understandable language, but, oh well, can't expect everything to perfect, can we? I can also use magic in what my mother calls 'practical education'; I am a very fast learner; and can disguise myself to resemble an actual human, but that drains my magic reserves quite fast, rendering me weak by the end of the day!"

"How do you refill your magic?" Prim asked breathlessly.

"Simple. Go back into my pixie dwelling for a bit, but if I have depleted my reserves, I have to stay longer, even overnight." Her smile never faltered during the conversation.

"And your dwelling is?" she asked. Katniss’ smile widened, bending closer to her face to whisper as if she was telling her a secret.

"My actual house is under the rock," she pointed in the direction of the menhir, "But, everything you can see for a 20 kilometers radius is the Evergreen Pixies' domain. My mother is Queen of the Pixies, I have the potential to be Queen myself someday, but I'm still a juvenile, according to the Pixie Elders of my kingdom."

Prim's eyes were sparkling with curiosity, mirth and wonder. Her father could see the cogs in his daughter’s little head turning like a newspaper press, spitting out half written questions that only needed the right amount of encouragement to abandon her mind and come to surface the world. When Prim asked if she could examine the pixies wings, he acted quickly, stepping between the pixie and Prim. It was time to end this madness.

"Highness, I am very grateful to you for saving my daughter, but, as you can see, she isn't hurt or in danger anymore, I can take care of her from here on."

"With all due respect, Peeta, from what I've seen, I must disagree with that statement! The child is clearly too vivacious and curious for her own good. If you leave her unsupervised, she's bound to find herself in more trouble. And for what I've observed, you are spreading yourself too thin to accommodate for acceptable supervision. If you are trying to get rid of me, I suggest you think again, sir! I will not leave her; I will not make the same mistake again! I'm staying right here, to cause all kinds of trouble with miss Primrose... If... If she wants me to, that is!" She had been oh so full of steam when she first started speaking, her wings flapping like hummingbird wings, Prim surmised this happened when the Princess was feeling particularly upset or excited, and apparently her Daddy made the Princess very upset and vice-versa. She didn't understand this, but she caught on the uneasiness that the last sentence Katniss had spoken distill.

"Wait!" she said right when her father had started arguing back that Katniss’ presence wasn't needed, and her Uncle Rye, who had been uncharacteristically silent for so long intervened telling his brother to "cool it until you've heard the Pixie's proposition."

"Proposition? Don't you mean imposition?" he retorted, making Katniss flutter higher in anger, her voice mixing with Peeta and Rye's as they each tried to talk above each other.

"STOP!" The shriek from a heaving-for-air Prim caused all of them to stop their arguing. "Just...quit with the fighting already!" said the girl at the brink of tears, covering her ears with her hands. Everyone sheepishly apologized and stepped back from the center of the garden where they met in their brawl.

"Listen here, bud... I think Princess Katniss has a point," interjected Bill in a conciliatory attempt, while placing a protective arm around his niece's shoulders. Prim simply lean on his side and sigh in relief. "Peet, we still have a crap load of stuff to do here before next Tuesday, and Prim's allergies keep getting worse every time we start cleaning another corner of the cottage. I think her spending some time outside the house would be actually better for her, and... I love you, buddy, but the Princess is right. You can't keep both your eyes on Prim at all times, at some point she's gonna do something crazier than stepping onto a tiny ledge on the roof..." He glared at his mother for a moment, before saying the next words, "The truth is, none of us can keep her safe at all times; she almost ran into traffic at aunt Mags' funeral, she took a long swig from Rye's rum and coke last month, right in front of Lavinia..."

"What? I didn't know about that! Why didn't I know about that?" scoffed Peeta incredulously. His middle brother ducked his head in shame but said nothing, and Mrs. Mellark opened her mouth to probably scream, but thought better of it, and settle back down on her bench. Effie, meanwhile, simply stood there looking at them as if this was some kind of tennis match being played before her eyes.

Ignoring his brother, Bill continued. "I'm not gonna lie, I am disappointed in all of us, cause the only child in a house full of grown-ups, keeps doing shi- _stuff_ she ain't supposed to, right before our eyes and they’re all ' _accidents_ '!" He made quotation marks with his fingers when he said the word accidents; but the longer he talked the more distress he showed, "This really worries me guys... I'm about to become a father myself, and we need to get our shi- STUFF... our _stuff_ together, if we don't wanna completely screw up our kids. So... if the pixie wants to lend a hand, I vote she's allowed to. Now... if my memory doesn't fail me, I reckon she said _any_ Mellark child could call her and she'd help... Does that still stand, my Lady?" he asked Katniss directly, his eyes were pleading and a bit desperate. Katniss had the feeling that this might have more to do with his own youngling on the way than with the child currently being discussed. She nodded, then she corroborated verbally.

"True, I will answer if _any_ Mellark child summons me." She took a breath, and looked at Prim who was now calmer, and simply peering around her uncle. "Little miss, if you ask me to stay, I will!"

"Ok... I... um, I want you to stay around for a while..." said Prim throwing her father nervous glances in quick succession as if trying to make sure it was ok with him.

"Fine by me!" said Rye with a shrug.

"If that's what Prim wants..." muttered Mrs. Mellark, frowning and crossing her arms over her chest.

Peeta gave a small frustrated groan, threw his arms up in the air, and gritted out "Fine... Whatever!"

"Good!" said Bill with a relieved smile, then turning to Katniss, he extended his open hand to shake on the agreement. "I think we all agree, Highness, you can come hang out with our little Prim here... Um... This is Primrose Mellark by the way... Peeta's daughter as you, um, already... Well! Yeah!" After Bill officially introduced Prim to Katniss, he let his arm fall from the lithe shoulders of the girl, and rushed back into the house closely followed by Mrs. Mellark. Rye only loitered about with Effie for a few minutes while they gawk at Katniss a bit longer, but finally they too headed inside.

Peeta didn't even move a muscle until Bill called him in. He reluctantly turned on his heel and hovered by the front door, his eyes intently scanning Katniss every other second, until finally he went in.

Prim finally got her wish granted and Katniss turned around and let her wings expand and flap lazily, then still so the girl could poke at them and admire them in peace.

 

=====================

 

"This is Epona! She's my oldest friend in the moorland! She truly is a sweetheart!" said Katniss with a laugh that sounded like raindrops on a xylophone.

Prim stood very still ten feet away from the pony as it munched some grass voraciously uninterested in their presence, which didn’t last long, when Katniss glided her way next to her equine friend. Epona lifted her head and gave her some neighing noise in recognition, her ears prickled excitedly as she nuzzled her friend's hand, and when Katniss produced a sugar cube from a small satchel she carried with her, Epona nickered and sighed contentedly.

Epona looked like all ponies do: thick boned body, short thick legs, dense and long cream colored tail and an equally dense and long cream colored mane that cascaded on the left side of her stocky body. Her overall coat is a soft brown color, with a splash of cream on the muzzle, three of her ankles and chest. She was pretty in pony standards, and seemed to be a happy little horsey.

"Come meet my friend!" Katniss told the animal softly into one of her perked up ears. The pony snorted her assent, and followed Katniss as she slowly cut through the tall heather towards Prim.

Prim was a little nervous. She had seen and pet horses before, but usually they were at petting zoos or there was the Christmas her Daddy and Uncles took her to this church, that to celebrate the season had put together some kind of festival event. They had games, carolers, pies, hot chocolate, hay rides, and a little pony ride circuit. She had been little, 5 or 6 probably, but she was smitten with a white spotted tiny pony. She waited in line patiently in the bitter winter wind, until she could choose him to be her ride. Looking back, she felt a bit guilty for actually riding on the poor thing; it must've been tired, hungry, cold and sad, being in shackles out there, just going around and around, having all those kids put on his back and most likely letting them pull on his hair.

Looking at Epona, how she was free to roam the open moors and be with the rest of her wild pony friends, made her wish she had never contributed to the enslavement of ponies and mini horses.

"H-hi, Epona," she said timidly waving at the brown and white animal. "Um, my name is Primrose, and I'm friends with Katniss. She has told me so much about you, and well, I told her I've never met a wild horse before, so, here I am, I guess..." Epona was still about a foot away from her; Prim had actually stood on a slightly raised slab of stone that jutted out from the earth and was covered in moss at the base.

Katniss let her wings flap quickly and reached her young ward in a second, placing three sugar cubes in her palm, she encouraged, "Come now darling, Epona won't bite... at least not purposely." She smiled reassuringly at the girl, "Keep your palm flat, fingers slightly bent downward just in case. There!" The pony approached almost as timidly as Prim was inching in its direction.

"Aww! She likes you, Prim! Well done!" Katniss clapped happily when her two friends finally made contact and the pony accepted the proffered treat.

"I think she just likes the sugar," said Prim softly.

"Nonsense! She's being positively lovely to you! If she didn't like you, she would've run off by now!" said Katniss as she circled around her friends hovering a foot up from the ground. "Now, the same can never be said about my cousin, Finnick! He adores sugar cubes and usually tries to steal the few ones we can secure from the few elderly humans we usually assist. He was actually quite cross with you and your uncle for providing granulated sugar instead of cubed for the tea service you brought us the first time you visited our rock!" She laughed as she told her little friend about her cousin; Prim merely smile back at the anecdote.

"I don't have any cousins..." she said abruptly, "Well...at least not yet. My Aunt Vinnie, Uncle Bill's wife, is pregnant. But, this is like her third time being pregnant and it never pans out for her, so I'm not really holding my breath hoping anymore. I think it hurts Auntie Vinnie, she usually looks so sad..." Prim braves a hand to caress Epona behind the ears, and when Epona doesn't dissuade her from it, she inches closer to the animal until they're close enough for the girl to hug the pony's neck if she wanted.

She misses Katniss scowl, which is for the best. It's not that Katniss is angry, or disgusted. It’s that she dislikes how much heartbreak this whole family carries in their midst, and to make matters worse, Tuesday, the day the humans leave Devon, is quickly approaching. In fact, it'll be here in two days’ time, and she has no idea of how to ask the girl if she wants her to follow them to, first London, and then to America. Leaving Dartmoor is something she almost did when Peeta finally called her all those years ago, but as she had told him, something in his voice betrayed his loss of innocence, even though he was still, by law standards, a seventeen year old minor. She now realized the reason why: he was no longer a carefree child anymore, he was someone's father and he now had responsibilities. If Prim would have been able to call on her, it would have been a different story altogether, but alas, things did not happen that way.

Epona let out a series of snorts, nickers and neighs, she didn't seem agitated or trying to rush off, and Katniss understood, her equine friend had picked up on their discomfort and wanted to cheer them up a tad. Katniss smiled brightly and her wings that had droop while she was deep in thought, perked up in anticipation.

"Alright, Prim, darling... It is time!" she said with a great deal of mirth filling her voice.

"Time for what? Not to leave, I hope! We just got here!" the girl protested.

"Of course not, silly! It's time for a ride!" Without warning, the pixie swooped down and picked up the child and quickly but gently, sat her on the back of the pony.

"HEY!!!" Prim yelped in surprise, "Cut it out! What are you doing? I can't ride a wild pony... Bareback on top of it all!! This is nuts!" Her words came out in terrified squeaks and the pixie laughed her raindrops-on-xylophone laugh once more.

"Well, I do not know whatever do you mean by 'nuts', but I'm sure our friend Epona will love some nuts, if you were inclined to feed her some!" She hadn't stopped laughing, ' _this is probably what all pixies do, laugh like maniacs!_ ’ mused Prim inwardly.

"Um... When I said this is _nuts_ , I only meant that it was crazy, or not completely a sane idea... Does that explain the expression?" Prim asked peering back expectantly at Katniss while she made sure Prim was seated in the center of the animal's back, before speaking again.

"Oh, I understand! So you do not refer to nuts as treats... We would normally say ‘this is mental' which, no offense dear, but our way makes a tad more sense! I will have to hear it again later on, just for learning the appropriate context to use it in!"

The pixie had been around the humans for three days now, and it was evident pretty fast, that some slang used by them was unheard or misunderstood by the pixie, so Prim had taken it upon herself to explain different meanings for different sayings. She had the hardest time explaining the contraction ' _Y'all_ ' that Uncle Rye had called out one evening while very tipsy, the more alcohol in his bloodstream the ' _rednecker_ ' he usually sounded... and then to explain _Redneck_ was another feat that warrant help from Uncle Bill. They had been trying to find an instance in which Katniss could ever use _y’all_ and not sound completely hilarious and ridiculous with her British accent. They gave up on the use of _redneck_ pretty quick, she always sounded offensive and snooty when she spoke it. The whole thing was a work in progress.

Seriousness slightly returning to Katniss, when she was sure Prim was firmly planted on Epona's broad back. "Alrighty then!" There was a soft satisfied smile on her lips, "Hold on tight to her neck, just don't pull on her mane, she will not appreciate that! I will be taking my normal size if you don't mind, it would be very rude to expect her to carry both of us if I'm in my human size... Ponies are very strong for their size, but, it's better to be polite! You may hold on to her mane if you need to, just remember to not pull hard!" Without waiting for a response, Katniss did an intricate flip on the air and with a small pop, she shrunk to normal pixie height, she came to seat herself between Prim and Epona's neck. When she was ready, she simply tapped the pony and without warning, the pony took off at a fast paced trot.

It took Prim by surprise at first, and the girl simply choked the poor animal's neck in fear, but soon after, she began to relax and loosened the hold she had on her new friend. She finally eased her arms from the horse's neck and her hands tangled in the long flowing mane, she tried not to pull on it too hard. She was finally enjoying the rush of freedom she felt riding the wild pony. The rolling hills covered in a blanket of green grass and moss, the tall golden heather undulating lazily in the soft breeze, just seemed more alive at this speed. As it is normal for the moorland, large rock formations sprang from random places in the landscape, a few trees littered the passing background, low and twisted and pretty, the blue sky was starting to tinge pink in the horizon and the rushing breeze was sweet and refreshing. Epona came across a creek strewn with large pebbles and loose rocks, so she slowed her pace significantly as she skipped over the clear babbling water. Everything was magical and beautiful, and Prim was laughing wholeheartedly without even knowing it; it filled Katniss’ heart to the brim to see the girl this happy, she wished she could keep her this way forever, but, alas, everything must progress naturally, and soon Epona was circuitously heading back closer to the human populated areas at an easy pace. The horse seemed to have had a good time as well, which made Prim happy.

Once she dismounted, and stood firmly on the outcrop of rocks she had been standing on when she first started interacting with the pony, she patted her neck fondly, and soon, she threw her slim arms around its neck and nuzzled her face on the thick-haired mane.

"Thank you for letting me ride you! It was an honor to be chosen to do so by a horse!" whispered Prim into the animal's hair. Epona answered with a snorting nod of her head. The girl finally let go and stepped back. Katniss was back to her human size, she also patted Epona on the front leg muscle, and thanked her for the ride. They bid the pony goodbye, and started the trek back to the cottage.

As they walked, Katniss started her now usual set of questions about their day's adventures. She thought it was important to leave at least a kernel of wisdom out of their games.

"So, what did you think about the wild ponies of Dartmoor, dear?"

"I think I enjoyed being invited to ride on one, instead of just forcing myself on it! It was very nice! I liked it, I liked Epona; she was sweet and soft!"

"Yeah, she's quite cuddly, don't you say?"

"I think all animals should be treated with respect! If you respect them and treat them nicely, they'll be happy, and they'll wanna play with you and be your friend! I think I will try to be nice to all animals!"

Katniss gave her a sideways, satisfied smile and nodded in assent. "Well said, Miss Primrose! All living creatures, big or small deserve to be treated with love and care!"

"Even snakes?" asked Prim in disgust.

"Well, yes, all animals have a purpose. Snakes might be slimy and unappealing to you, but other people may like them and appreciate them. Same goes for every other creature there is...even trolls!"

"Well, I think I will leave the whole _loving_  snakes to those people, I'll just respect them from afar if that's ok." Prim said with a huff.

"It is totally ok, my sweet child!" She giggled and held Prim's hand in hers as they approached the cottage. They skipped towards it, swinging their locked fingers as they went.

The closer they got to the house, they start to notice the big truck parked on the side of the road. It had some moving company logo covering the majority of the side walls. They saw movement coming from there, and realized they were loading pieces of furniture into the truck. There were at least two people they didn't recognize from where they stood. Prim turned her face anxiously to Katniss, and saw the apprehension clear on her face.

"Um, I guess I can go alone from here... The house isn’t that far!" she offered timidly.

"No, no. It's quite fine," Katniss shook her head and then turned her face to smile at Prim. "This is the perfect excuse to try my ' _human form'_ camouflage!" she whispered conspiratorially smiling wickedly, Prim returned the smile immediately.

It happened subtly, her wings folded and shrunk and softly faded into invisibility. Her feet touch the ground gently one at a time as she lost her airborne ability. As they stepped in the house's direction, her skin color shifted. It faded until it was diluted into a more human-like olive tone, her eyes seemed to dull a bit into a storm-cloud grey with flecks of pale blue pointing to newly dimmed pupils. Her hair seemed to have stayed its natural onyx shade, it just wasn't as ethereally flowing as it normally was, but at least it was as shiny and silky as ever.

The gate to the newly manicure garden was wide open when the two females crossed into the house. There was muffled noise coming from the inside of the cottage, spilling out the equally open front door.

Rye, came out of the house, thick muscular arms wrapped around a huge box with the words "Blankets for donation" written across the sides in black marker. The box slipped a bit in his grasp, so, he brought up a knee, seemingly to stabilize the box and rearrange his hold on it, but since the initial obstruction was out of his line of sight, he jumped back an inch with a start.

"Holy moly!" he shouted in surprise as the sight of 'human' Katniss flooded his vision. He stood there stupidly, gawking until the edge of something hard dug into his back painfully. "Argh! What the...?" He jumped forward.

Peeta, who was carrying a very heavy, solidly built side table, had just collided with his momentarily stunned brother right at the doorway. He wasn't expecting his way to be blocked, and he had been concentrating in breathing through his mouth while hefting the heavy piece of furniture. His eyes had been trying to stick to the ground to not trip on anything down there, he never thought to look for blockades ahead of him.

"Rye, what the hell!" He growled when his fingers slid from under the thin lip of the table top, sending the squared solid block of wood that made the foot of the table crashing on his toes. "Goddamn it! MOVE!" He all but shoulder-shoved him forward, then rose his angry gaze to find a wide eyed Katniss standing right in front of them next to a snickering Prim covering her mouth to prevent her laughter to escape from her. The pixie...  _woman_ , rolled her eyes and advanced to help the men sort out themselves after the surprise at hearing such colorful expletives had worn off.

She pull up the box from where it had dipped on Rye's knee, and patted his hands to where he had regained a better grip, then gently prodded him forward, and towards the truck where two mover men watched the whole exchange quizzically, they didn't really conceal their interest in the exotic looking woman. Rye had to shove the box roughly into one of the guy's chest to get them to return to their work and stop them from gawking at Katniss.

Peeta had been doing a magnificent job at avoiding, and all around ignoring Katniss all week, he would manage to be very busy elsewhere every time she was around. It had been no easy task, especially the day before, when she, Prim and Effie had been working on taming the overgrown garden practically all day. It was even worse when he had come outside to offer some snacks and they were all on their hands and knees ripping weeds out. He breathed a thankful prayer to God, that the pixie had decided to wear long pants instead of her usually too short dresses at the specific moment; the pants however, hugged her bottom so perfectly he had to rush back inside before his body took a mind of its own and parts of him would want to stir trouble against his will. At the moment, he was too entranced on the sight in front of him, his mouth was completely hanging open and dry, his eyes big as saucers, staring shamelessly (or was it in shock?) at her, now that she wasn't blue and her eyes were a more natural color, he could not school himself quickly enough into his usual indifference.

As if being called telepathically, Effie poked her head around the door, probably to investigate what the commotion was out there. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull, and her voice shrilly chided Peeta for his careless treatment of a perfectly nice table.

"That is mahogany!" Her eyes briefly gave Katniss a once over, but she only gave her an approving nod, not even surprised. "Very nice, Highness, but maybe next time, you would do something about the attire. It's still a bit too quizzical for our kind." Prim rose an eyebrow, ' _that comment coming from the woman who wore a magenta wig adorned with a deep purple bird-cage veil and multi colored butterfly stockings under her black outfit to her own mother's funeral... Really, Effie, really?_ '

Peeta scrambled to pick up the table, muttering an apology to Effie as he went; once the heavy cargo was secured in his hands, he looked more composed. He allowed his eyes to roam slowly, appreciatively, down Katniss' full length, starting at the crown of her head to the sole of her moccasin boots. She was wearing a very short asymmetrical scrap of gauzy beige linen, it was tied up on a knot over her left shoulder, leaving the other one and (he surmised) great part of her back exposed to accommodate her now missing wings. She was wearing a soft, worn leather belt around her tiny waist, that had probably seen better days, the almost too short skirt of her ‘dress’ was frayed around the hem that ended on a longer peak that reach the outside of her right knee, her other leg was completely expose all the way up to the upper thigh. Her knee-high soft fur, moccasin boots were bound in place with a crisscrossed black cloth and muffed her already silent tread eerily. She didn't have her bow or arrows, but tied to her belt was a mid-size sheathed carving knife. There was also a satchel slung over her shoulder.

Peeta was surprised with the effect, the ridiculous amount of olive flesh he was appraising, was having on him. Only Bill's surprised "Wow" snap him out of his stupor. He looked at his brother and narrowed his eyes at him almost accusingly, Bill's whole brow rose at the gesture. Peeta's eyes quickly returned to Katniss and for the first time that week, he looked her in the eye.

"Effie's right. You need more... Clothes!" he stammered and choked out, before darting around her and his thoroughly confused daughter, the weight of the table forgotten.

"Hi, Katniss!" said Bill in a forcefully friendly tone, as he stepped into the garden, closely followed by Rye, who was still gawking like an idiot.

"Hi, Billy!" said Katniss after a moment of pure confusion at all of their reactions. "Um... Should I...should I leave?" She asked after a beat.

"NO!!" Rye's near shout made Bill, Prim and Katniss jump startle. "Please don't leave! You are so pretty to look at..." His voice ended in a dreamy whisper and a goofy half smile sit across his face. Bill closed his eyes and shook his head in embarrassment. His brother was an idiot!

"Uh... No, you don't have to leave..." Bill spoke in his characteristic conciliatory tone, then rubbed his face harshly in annoyance. "Just, please forget my brothers... Ignore them as much as you can, they're not... There's something not completely right in their brains at the moment, pay them no attention!"

"Oh dear! Is it dangerous?" Katniss asked worriedly.

"Is what dangerous?" asked Bill getting antsy.

"No...” Prim interrupted. "Everyone... It-it’s fine. Katniss just doesn't understand all the phrases we use... Like, you just said ' _something isn't quite right in their brains'_ Uncle Bill... We just need to explain to her, that you simply meant to say, they're a bit ' _mad_ ', or a bit ' _mental_ ' like they say here in England... I think that should clear that up. Nothing is actually wrong with them. They are just a pair of goofballs being silly, that's all!" said the girl with a small giggle. 

"I will have to agree with sweet Prim on that one. These guys are crazy...and stupid! Don't forget the stupid. Not that you should be saying that about your daddy, but, it is the truth... Ok?" Bill asked ruefully smiling.

"Ok!"

"Ok"

 

====================

 

Monday was disastrous.

It was the last day the Mellarks and Effie Trinket would be staying at the cottage, and Prim's elders had been hounding her to go pack the whole time. All she'd want was to spend her last day in Devon hanging out with Katniss; they had grown very close in the last five days, in the few hours of downtime the adults had allowed her to have, and the mere thought of her imminent departure caused the girl all sorts of anxiety and discomfort. She has not had a friendship like the one she had with Katniss... _ever_! And she thought it was unfair that she had to part from the first person ever whose only purpose in their friendship was to see her content and accompanied.

Katniss was good about keeping their time together well balanced between having fun and actually gaining some sort of wisdom or knowledge out of whatever activities they were doing. They didn't just play games every day either; they worked in the garden one day, and on another, they helped with laundry and mopping the floors. Katniss didn't usually take her human size while in the cottage, unless verbal communication was absolutely necessary. Their time together had been great, and Prim was going to miss her new best friend dearly, So when Monday came, and all the miscommunication of being moth-sized brought big people trouble with it, Prim ended up doing something she had done only once before: run out without saying where she was going.

The day started as usual, Peeta and Prim bunking together in the living room. It was his turn to cook for everyone, so Peeta got up early to start prepping whatever baked goods they were going to ingest that day, plus some for the next day, seeing as they would be leaving the cottage right after breakfast Tuesday morning.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the now very familiar luna moth wings flap and flutter outside the closed kitchen window. He pretended he hadn't seen it, perhaps she would get the hint and fly back to her rock and stay there the rest of the day. Prim didn't need her around today; plus, it was better if they went with the old "band-aid" method--rip it off right away and deal with the sharp pain for a shocking minute and then get on with their lives... Prim was asleep anyway, why on earth was the pixie there so goddamn early?

Soon, she started kicking and slamming viciously on the thick glass pane; he rolled his eyes at that, and finally turned to actually watch her bump into the closed window repeatedly like a dumb bug would. He saw with amusement how the creature seemed to be screaming at him in anger by the way she was flailing her arms around herself in exaggerated motions. Finally he opened the window, and let her in. It was still dark enough outside a couple of stars still shone in the lazily waking blue night sky. The little winged thing buzzed by his hand as soon as the crack in the opening was wide enough for her to slip in, she took a wild turn and zapped back to keep her angry motioning arms flying right in front of his nose. He laughed. He actually, released a deep belly laugh, which made her abruptly stop in her little rage filled tirade he could not hear anyway.

His laugh died down some, and he looked at her rigid stance, both legs and arms were stiffly straight, away from her body, her hands in tight fists, her wings flapping rapidly to keep her airborne and her face was looking a bit purple... He figured purple was either a pixie's way of blushing or a physical showing of anger. He laughed again, and she stomped her feet in midair rushing closer to his face, where she actually kicked him on the tip of the nose.

"Hey! What the fuck was that?" he yelped bringing his hand to cover his nose. The movement had startled her and she flew out of his reach as quick as she could. "What the hell is wrong with you? You don't go kicking people on their faces, you lunatic! It doesn't matter how tiny you are! Argh, that hurt like a mother..."

"Daddy?" Prim's voice raspy from sleep cut his tirade abruptly, her eyes squinting at the bright light bulb in the middle of the kitchen ceiling. She yawned big and long as to illustrate just how tired she was.

"What?" snapped a thoroughly annoyed Peeta. "What is it, Prim? If there isn't anything you actually need, I want you to head back to bed, ok?" He said moodily still rubbing his nose, Prim's eyes groggily floated to fix on the butterfly thing fluttering by her father's head, she completely closed one eye in an effort to focus her other eye in an effort to improve the chances to see more clearly, all in vain. She nodded.

"Ok, Daddy... Just stop fighting with Katniss. It's too early for your animosity," she then turned on her heel and slouch back to bed.

Once Prim was out hearing range, Peeta gave Katniss the stink eye, and went back to his dough kneading. He then tossed over his shoulder coldly, "If you want to be useful, grow up and help with breakfast, will you?" he said referring that she should take a human size and help out.

"Fine!" she spat in response almost immediately, "You didn't have to be a complete arse about it, you know!" she muttered under her breath as she grabbed a frying pan from a set of hooks lining the wall behind the lone standing stove, "White gravy, right?" she asked a little more kindly. She had learned that the Americans ate 'biscuits and gravy' almost every morning, according to Prim it was a comfort food from their region in the south of the country, and ' _biscuits_ ' where a different kind of baked good for the Americans than it was to the English.

Peeta looked at her in surprise as he saw her collecting the right ingredients to make the gravy, "Uh, yeah, I guess you can start on that... I was going to make waffles today, but I guess this is actually a family favorite." He shrugged eying her sideways, "I had no idea you knew how to make it."

"I saw your mother on her day to make breakfast. It seemed simple enough to recreate," she shrugged as well.

"Oh... so, you do really learn how to do things pretty fast, then?" he said curiously, mixing new dough for biscuits.

"Well, of course. I am a pixie, I can't be of any help if I don't know how to do things like humans do. I guess it's one of our magic abilities: _to learn quite fast!"_ She said as she expertly mixed the concoction that was to be ladled on top of the fresh flaky biscuits. She also made some coffee and put a kettle on the side for tea.

"So... Why did you attack me?" Peeta asked after a moment of quiet, working companionship.

"You were laughing at me," she responded curtly.

"Well... I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it. You looked funny. I never knew your face could turn so purple when you got mad."

She gave him a dirty look paired with one of the mighty scowls she would give people who simply annoyed her, she just had never directed one at him before, and he smiled guiltily as he saw her. He almost said she actually looked pretty, but thought better of it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything," he said again and turned back to the ball of dough he had just dumped into a bowl covering it with a damp towel to let it rest and rise. "Um... Why were you here so early, anyway?" he said after another silent beat.

She took a deep, loud breath. She gave the now thickened gravy another quick stir, and turned the burner off. She turned to face him completely, and since he had nothing else to do for another 20 minutes, he faced her too.

"You can't take her away to New York City," she said bluntly, her melted steal eyes fixed unflinching on his forget-me-not blue ones.

"Excuse me?" he said with an incredulous scoff. "Are you fucking serious? Are you trying to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own child?" He smacked the kitchen towel he had been wiping his hands with, against the wooden counter. "This is none of your business, _your highness!_ "

Katniss interrupted him defensively, "It is my concern if the child I've chosen to protect is unhappy! She is not happy about the move! She has confided in me her fears of being in a strange city, with no friends and no family to rely on. These last few days here, with all of you living in the same place, have been the happiest time of her life... please, don’t take all this away from her." Her tone wasn’t angry, it was more pleading, but HE was angry. He had no idea of how to manage all the feelings that were strangling his chest at the moment.

"Highness, it's one thing for you to weasel your way into my daughter's life, and another to feel entitled to tell me what to do with my family! Just because you saved her from a very bad fall doesn't mean you have any say in my decision making. You don't know what's best for my own kid." He was struggling to keep his voice quiet, but he was beyond rage-full. The veins in his neck bulged with the effort of not screaming into her face, and it infuriated him, that she didn't look the slightest troubled by his rage. She had to be able to see it in his face. He felt the blood burning through his whole body, he was sure his face would be tomato red, as mad as he was.

"Peeta..." her voice was soft and calm, his name in her tongue like a caress. He hated her for the way she made it sound in her lips as if she gave a damn about him. He hated her for the world of pain and longing it stirred deep inside of him, but she kept talking before he could cuss her out for it. "I understand you have to go to your home. As much as I would love it if you relocated here in Dartmoor and never left, I understand all you are doing is what you think is best for you, her and the rest of the family... But maybe you need to listen to her closely. Prim is a marvelous child, she's sweet and smart, and more insightful than you would suspect at her short years..." He lifted a hand to stop her, his eyes buried on the tile of the floor, his lips contorted into a restrained scowl.

"Believe me... I'm very grateful for your help in this past few days, for watching out for Prim, but I think it's time for you to go back to your own people." he said flatly. "I would appreciate it if you did not come back anymore. She doesn't need to drag this goodbye with you much longer, the sooner you're out of her life the better... After all, she's bound to be disappointed by you deserting her when she needs you the most, the same way it happened to me." He didn't see the shock on her face as he said those words, nor her morphing expression, or the way her mouth opened and closed repeatedly trying to form a defense for herself.

"Very well. I spoke my piece. I must go... If she calls me though, I will answer her summons. After all, Primrose is the only person I'm sure that I love."

He gave another scoff followed by a mirthless laugh and a shake of his head, "Oh, I'm sure of it! I've never heard that from you before!" He turned away from her and back to his dough, dumping it on the already floured counter, and pounded on it with a vengeance.

"No..." she whispered softly, "You haven't... What I said to you was that I loved you the most... That only changed when I was convinced that you had outgrown me. But, my oath remains to all children of this family. I will come if I'm called." A moment later, he saw her fly out the window in her natural form, his eyes follow her luminescent wings over the green grass and golden heather and the rocks protruding from the ground, until the shadows of the newly rising sun obscured her from view.

"Good riddance...who needs a stupid pixie anyways?" he said under his breath.

"I don't know... Prim maybe?" Rye's voice made him jump in place, he turned around to glare at his brother. "You know Peet, I wish I knew why you are so pissed off at her. I mean... what did she do to deserve your wrath and bad-mouthery?" He gave his brother an exaggerated crooked smile, but the way his eyes linger on the open window told him he was half serious. Rye fully entered the kitchen, and served himself some coffee in a mug, no sugar. He gave an appreciative moan at the first sip of the dark beverage. "Man, baby bro. This java is good!"

"Yeah... well, she made it. And whatever I feel towards her is my business, not yours. It should suffice you to know that she would betray Prim sooner or later and leave her stranded when she needs her help most. Prim's better off without her!"

"Says you... and you can say whatever you want about her, but that miniature mystical creature knows how to brew a cup of Joe!"

 

=====================

 

The weather outside had turned chilly and dark, the usually friendly sun had been absent for hours now, and a slow formation of nearly black clouds had been slowly approaching, blanketing what was left of the otherwise clear blue sky. The day had been boring and dreary, a storm was brewing in the distance and it would soon be upon them, as if the weather wanted to be ominous for the sake of matching Prim's current emotional state. She had begrudgingly packed her suitcase, had done her chores, had showered, dressed, eaten and had sat to watch more boring TV than she could care to admit; Katniss never showed up for their usual outing, neither to help her with her chores, or to simply fly around her while she was busy otherwise. It was unlike her friend to stand her up like that, they had agreed to see each other at some point that day. She was getting worried by the pixie's absence, and so she made a comment about it.

"I wonder why Katniss hasn't showed up... I mean she was here in the morning when Daddy was making breakfast, I heard them talking..."

"Have you asked your father if he told her off?" suggested Mrs. Mellark from behind the novel she was reading in the recliner chair next to her granddaughter's couch. "You know, your father is not exactly keen on her, God knows why. Heaven knows, that boy used to worship her when he was your age!"

This made Prim stiffen in her seat, she remembered now they weren't acting very friendly when she came into the kitchen that morning. She stood quickly from her place and rushed to find her father who was loading their van for their trip back to London the next day.

"Daddy?" She called out. He poked his head around the back of the van to see his daughter power walk in his direction. Bill, jumped out of the open side door of the vehicle, and wiped his face with a multicolored bandana that Prim had given him for Easter earlier that year.

"What is it, pumpkin?" said Peeta with a soft smile in her direction that she didn't return.

"Daddy, did you do something to offend her? Were you mean to her? She hasn't come to see me. She promised me she'd come by today to help me pack and she never did... But I know she came this morning, and you must've done something!" Her voice broke and tears prickled at the corners of her blue eyes. She was wearing overalls and twin long braids that made her look even younger than her 11 years of age.

Bill's eyebrows rose as he looked at his brother in surprise. He silently moved to where Peeta was, to keep on loading their luggage, before the storm hit. The wind had picked up, and it was blowing really hard now, bringing the clouds pregnant with rain closer to them.

"Prim, I did what I thought was best for you. I told the Princess it was best if she didn't come. You would've had to say goodbye to her today either way, and why go through all that if you could just have the last time you saw her be an awesome, cool, fun memory, instead of a sad one?" he reasoned with his child, but Prim was too distressed by now.

"You told her to stay away?" She screamed in disbelief, her voice shrill above the whine of the wind, tears running down her cheeks. "Why? Why would you do that? She's my friend! MINE! You had no right!"

"Prim..." He started to crouch to her level, he reached to place his hands on her shoulders, but she shook them off and took a step back away from him, shaking her head while she sobbed. "Prim, come on... it's better this way, you don’t wanna go back to America talking about a pixie you befriended while overseas. Other kids are gonna think you're crazy and make fun of you. The sooner you give her up, the better..." He was starting to lose patience.

"I don't care what other people think of me! I want Katniss; she's my only friend in the world!" she countered.

"Prim, she's a pixie... Once you leave, she will forget all about you. She won't care anymore, it's time for you to grow up and stop being a brat!" he barked.

Bill came from behind the van where he had finish loading their belongings, "Peeta, what the hell?" A lightning bolt stroke down somewhere in the distance, illuminating the now dark surroundings, the soft rumble of a thunder could be hear far away. Bill slammed the van doors shut.

"Stay out of this, Bill!" Peeta warned.

"Why are you being such a jerk? Why do you hate Katniss so much?" Prim ignored her uncle and directed her words angrily at her dad.

"PRIM! That's enough!" He growled at her now completely angry, "I will not have you act this way! I'm glad I told her to stay away from you; she's clearly bad for us as a family! Look at us! We would never be talking this way to each other if it wasn't for her!"

"No! You are bad for us as a family, you want to drag me with you away from everything I care about! And I hate you for that!" she yelled back at him. Peeta only stood there, watching Prim's reddened face, her eyes had gone as big as saucers mirroring his, neither of them could believe she had said that to him. A big fat droplet hit his cheek, then a couple more fell from the sky landing indiscriminately everywhere around them. 

"You can't talk to me that way! Go inside and straight to your grandmother's room until I call you for bed! No supper for you!" He finally found his own voice, doing everything he could to keep the brokenness out of his tone.

"Fine!" She turned around and fled into the house, just as a booming thunder rolled in.

Peeta stood there, eyes fixated on the front door of the cottage where Prim had disappeared into. Bill came to stand next to his brother, and put a comforting arm around his hunched shoulders in dejection. The rain was now gaining momentum.

"I-I can't believe she just said that to me... My baby girl hates me, Bill..." He turned his stunned eyes to see his brother's troubled face, "My sweet little Prim just told me she hates me... I thought... I thought, I thought there would be more years of innocent love in her heart for me before she realized what a joke for a dad I am... I think I really did fuck this one up pretty bad." He was still stunned when the icy rain drops started to fall on them in earnest.

"Come on, Peet... She'll get over it, all kids do. She's a tween... You know what they say about girls maturing faster than boys, right? She was gonna reach the 'hate your folks' stage sooner than we did when we were kids... It'll be alright. Let's go inside before we get flooded. This is the only pair of shoes I have out and my bag is the one at the very bottom of the pile. I'm not going in digging for dry shoes tomorrow morning."

As they entered the house, they missed the slender figure shimmying down a drain pipe on the side of the house. They didn’t hear the thud of girl rain boots landing on the moistened ground, nor the sound of the same boots as they took off running away from the cottage and into the full blown storm, into the dark night.

 

=====================

 

"Codswallop!" The bronze haired, muscular and very handsome, male pixie croaked from his spot in the soft bed of his cousin the Princess, "Have you forgotten I was the one to teach you all you know? You can't lie to me Katniss. Go on, spit it out!"

"There is absolutely nothing I want to discuss with you right this second, Finnick, would you please just... I don't know... Clear off?" she groaned hiding her face into a fluffy pillow on her settee across the room.

"Come on, Brainless, out with it!" spat her cousin's best friend and by proxy, Katniss BFF as well. "Do you take us for some bleeding daft bunch? We aren't as witless as you are! We know something went terribly wrong with your visit to the humans this morning. You don't usually lock yourself away and miss every meal served, no matter how unappetizing!"

"Thank you, Johanna darling!" Finnick sat up and gave his friend his most winning smile. "Finally someone has spoken sense!"

"I should jolly well think so!" responded Johanna with a smirk, then punted Katniss' bare foot with the tip of her boot.

"Oi! What was that for?" screamed Katniss indignantly, her previously folded and tucked away wings had taken her high above her friend.

"Stop that! Sit back down! It unnerves me having to look up at you that way!" hissed Johanna. She had spiky, short, brown hair, her clothing was as brown as every other pixie's, except her clothing was all made of dry leaves and grass blades. She had no wings either, and her skin was lighter blue than Finnick's and Katniss', her face was a pretty heart shape with soft, honey brown wide-set eyes and a smallish nose in the middle of her face, her pointy ears were also a common trait amongst the Pixies.

Katniss often thought that, if humans had a model for pixie depictions, Johanna would be it, since she was the epitome of pixiness, all the telling characteristics were true on her best friend, down to cheekiness and mischievous disposition. That last one she was unsure if it had been a byproduct of too long of a friendship with Finnick, who was also royalty--to a degree. He had wings, not as regal as Katniss' and her mother's; his were more of a Blotched Emerald Moth type wings, a bit more conservative, which was a big contrast to his peacock personality, but the Queen always said: ' _the wings don't make the monarch_ '. Professor Latier, a human botanist and lepidopterist enthusiast, pointed out to Finnick himself the erroneous concept of the phrase, since Monarch butterflies were identified as such because of their wing patterns and coloring. When he told his aunt this, she simply told him off for being cheeky with her.

"Alright! Will you two stop hounding me if I tell you?" asked Katniss reluctantly coming down to sit on her previous perch once again.

"Sure! Why not?" said Finnick smiling broadly. He crawled lazily to the edge of the bed, and lay on his stomach watching Katniss with bright sea-green expectant eyes. "Go on!"

"I asked Peeta to not take Prim to New York City with him. He went raving mad! I've never seen him that angry before; it was quite scary. But I had to say it, I had to try and help Prim."

"Oh, Brainless. But why are you here avoiding him? I can understand you being upset, but there is a child out there that is probably missing you..."

"Yes, I know!" she forced out through gritted teeth. "And I would love to go to her, but he told me to stay away, and I'm respecting his wishes!" she said firmly.

"Why?" asked Finnick sitting up and watching her with a crease in his forehead. "Why would you care what a human man has to say?" he asked and there was concern in his voice. Johanna was a bit confused; she had no idea where he was going with that line of questioning or why he was increasingly showing concern.

"Finnick... It's not like that! So you can you can keep your shirt on!" spat Katniss, her wings softly fluttering. His started flapping too, a signal of rare distress in him.

"Katniss, what did you feel?" his tone was serious; her gaze fell in the opposite direction of him as she bit her lip.

"Sadness," she said quietly. Confused, Johanna saw Finnick fly across the room to sit next to Katniss and bring her chin to face him.

"Only sadness?" She nodded. "Alright... Only sadness we can deal with... If you felt sadness it means he classifies as a human in real need of help, and nothing else!" said Finnick with a reassuring, albeit nervous, smile. "As long--as long as it's only sadness you can feel when around him, we can be sure that you're just sensing empathy, and they aren't your feelings you were sensing but his..."

"I told you Finn, there is nothing to get all worked up about, see?" she said exasperated.

"Do either of you care to explain?" asked Johanna semi-annoyed. "What in blazes is going on?"

"Katniss empathized with the grown human, she felt his sadness..." said Finnick with a tight smile as if the short, curt response answered anything. It didn't.

"I worked that out by myself, funnily enough! What I don’t understand is why you all are bent out of shape over it!" She tossed him a critical glare and he only grimaced while Katniss took off, floating back and forth by her bed. Johanna continued, "We sense human's emotions all the time, especially the ones that qualify for help, why is this any different?" Johanna was a new pixie, only a few years old. Finnick was nearly 95 years old; he was considered to be equal to a young man in his early to mid-20s in human years, but at the same time he was considered one of the most knowledgeable pixies of his tribe. He was allowed to (literally) take younger pixies under his wing and teach them the facts of their kind's life. He was a perfect mentor when the need arose, so he explained as patiently as he could.

"The human Peeta, is Katniss' chosen child. She pledged her loyalty to him and his family, but he grew up, so she can't help him directly unless he's in real need. Now, there's a danger in her interactions with him... And you know our rules: a pixie cannot love an adult human. Loving a human is risky business; she could lose her wings and then her magic. She can't allow herself to love the man, let alone fall in love with him. She would become mortal."

"Oh..." whispered Johanna visibly concerned. She still didn't understand how Katniss could be in danger of falling in love with a human she had cared for as a child, but before she could piece together in her head what her next question should be, Katniss suddenly shot up into the air, wrecking all train of thought.

"It's storming up on the surface..." announced the Princess of the Pixies, her eyes piercing the carved ceiling above them, her muscles tense. Slowly, she reached for her bow and arrows. And then... they all heard it. The female scream mixing with the clamor of thunder and flash of lightning.

"KATNISS!"

"Prim..." she gasped and without another word, she was darting through the palace, surface bound.

"Katniss... Please come to me!" cried out the girl, soaked to the bone. Katniss barely cleared the mouth of her underground dwelling when she twirled up in the air, landing full size on one knee on the now muddy ground, leaping over a fallen log nearby, her eyes frantically searching for the girl. She saw her about 20 feet off course from the menhir. She was clearly disoriented: shivering, scared and angry. Katniss saw the slip of a child trip and fall, landing on her stomach full force, it took her three leaps to reach her. In less than a second, the girl was secured in her arms, and the pixie simply made a hand motion to magically expand the sitting area under the cover of the menhir, the only place nearby they could seek shelter from the storm.

Prim threw her skinny arms around her friend’s neck and sobbed in relief, then whispered into the crook of her neck, "You came!"

"Of course I did... You called me, I will always come when you call me!" said Katniss embracing the wet girl. She would have to return her home soon, but she needed to calm her down before that.

She started to sing an old lullaby she had once heard a widower sing to his young daughter; it was about a meadow and a willow, he invited his little one to lay down her head and closed her eyes, and promised that the sun would soon rise, because it was safe there, it was the place where he loved her. She poured every loving feeling she had into the song and hoped it was enough to calm the little girl's racing heart, so they could talk about why she had run to find her in this inclement weather. Prim finally stopped crying, she was still shivering so she dug deeper into Katniss’ chest, and the arms around her tightened their hold on her to provide some sorely needed body heat.

"Would you stay with me?" Prim choked out in a raspy voice. The question surprised Katniss. Her arms reflexively tightened even more around Prim. It was impossible to deny the frail tiny voice of this little girl, pleading for her company. Katniss had been a goner when she first met Peeta, she had dreaded the moment when he'd be all grown up and she would be forced to let go of him, She wasn't at all prepared to let him go, she realized, but she did, she had to... because something wonderful was to happen, there was yet another Mellark child that had rooted herself deep into her heart, soothing the unexpected sting of losing her Boy with the Bread. This child, in her arms, she would not give up so easily! So her answer did not falter or linger when she decidedly whispered, "Always"

"Come to America with me?" A single forget-me-not blue eye stared at her pleading shyly. This too was an unexpected question, but the answer to that one came readily to her lips.

"For as long as you need me, I will follow you anywhere." she replied into the girl’s soaked golden hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epona: If you are a gamer, you have to have noticed the name of Katniss' Pony friend. Epona is Link's horse from the Legend of Zelda verse, in the games she isn't a pony but a full size horse. Her name and likeness belongs to Nintendo. I chose her because, well, Link has fairies around him all the time. I figure she used to little flying creatures anyway.
> 
> Lepidopterist: a person that studies/collects butterflies.
> 
> There are a few indirect quotes from the books into the dialogue of this fic, since the quotes are not word for word lifted from the source material I will not differentiate them from the rest of the work. There is one line inspired on a Harry Potter quote as well swimming about:) and just to clarify, the pixies are English, so they speak British, so does Effie, and Mags (although she's gone now) and a couple characters we will meet next chapter.


	4. Grass Umbrellas and Understandings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to Shellibug for proofreading and serving as my idea bouncer, and all around British linguist extraordinaire, you are a sweetheart! 
> 
> Also shout out to the amazingly talented Any aka Loving_Mellark, who made the most spectacular banner ever, I can't even tell you how much I love it! 
> 
> Now, remember all pixies, Effie and and Effie's London "neighbors" are English, and speak with a corresponding accent. Please enjoy and have a great day!

 

_** Previously: ** _

_  
Prim had stopped crying, she was still shivering so she dug deeper into Katniss’ chest, as she tightened her hold on the girl to provide some body heat._

_"Would you stay with me?" Prim choke out in a raspy voice, the question surprised Katniss, her arms reflexively tightened around Prim, it was impossible to deny the frail tiny voice of this little girl that now pleaded for her company, Katniss had been a goner when she first met Peeta, and here she was yet another Mellark child had rooted deep I to her heart, so her answer did not falter when she decidedly whispered "Always"_

_"Come to America with me?"_

_"For as long as you need me." She replied._

**Chapter 4: Grass Umbrellas and Understandings**

 

The storm was raging on outside the outcrop of rocks where Katniss and Prim were huddled together. The Princess of the Pixies had just given her word to follow the girl in her arms to a different continent, and she had no idea what did all that meant, for herself and for her people. For now, her only concern was to keep Primrose safe and returned her home to her father as soon as possible.

"Primrose, dear, we will have to figure out a way to get you back to your cottage," whispered Katniss into Prim's hair.

"I don't wanna go back," said Prim in response.

"Well, if we want to tell your daddy that I'm to join in your travels, we will have to talk to him and the rest of your family at some point," the pixie reasoned with the girl.

Prim sighed. "But the rain is so cold!" It was a pathetic excuse on her part, she had risked the cold, harsh weather to reach her destination when she could have just called out her name, and Katniss would have rushed to her side. It was true though, she didn't really want to be back in the rain.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance?" Both females gave a startled jump, and a male voice chuckled heartily behind them.

"Finn!" Katniss slapped her cousin's arm while scowling at him mightily. "You nearly caused me an attack!"

The male pixie laughed again, a rich, full sound. Prim was perplexed, looking up at the newcomer pixie that had materialized from thin air, next to them.

"I don't suppose you could fashion us something to fend off this rain?" Asked Katniss after a moment, ignoring his laughter that still roared about the small space under the rock.

"I suppose I could!" He answered with a sideways smirk. His sea green eyes found Prim after a moment, and his smile broadened. "Hi there. Miss Mellark, I presume?" He said with an elaborate bow, causing Prim to giggle and sit up straighter in Katniss’ lap.

"Hello, I'm Primrose Mellark. I'm very pleased to meet you, mister...?"

"The name is Finnick! At your service, little lady!" He said with an exaggerated flourish. "So, I see you have found yourself in a pickle. Let me see if I can fix it!"

He looked around himself, only finding a cluster of Hare's Tail grass nearby, he tore up a handful of the widest blades and one single flower, the fluffiest one, and set to work with clever agility. As quickly as his fingers allowed, he knitted the grass blades together, forming a sturdy square. He tied together four skinny, dry sticks that seemed sturdy and were roughly the same medium length and tied one stick end to each corner if his square, and the other end to a longer thicker stick, that he placed straight up in the middle to the grass square. When he was done, he looked over his handy work, proding it here and there, turning and twisting it in every which way; when he was satisfied with his product, he gave the object an approving nod, then he turned to Katniss with a wide smile.

"Umbrella, m'lady? Can't let you go out there on this downpour without a way to keep you and the child dry!" His smile was pleasant and a small dimple appeared on his cheek. Prim looked at the tiny contraption on his hand, not really hiding how skeptical she felt.

"Oh! That's a good chap, Finn! You're the greatest!" Beamed Katniss enthusiastically at the male pixie.

"Um, ain't that a bit small?" Asked Prim dubiously, Finnick let his laugh fill the space beneath the shelter of the rock, and wiped his eye from a wayward laughing tear.

"No problem at all, little one..." With a flourish motion of his hand and some smooth flick of his wrist, the umbrella magically expanded, and grew into a human size umbrella... just square, and made of tightly woven grass instead of the regular material man's made their umbrellas out of. Prim would've been more impressed and enthusiastic about the magic display, if it wasn't for how tired she was.

"And it’s not that I don't trust you, but, how is a grass umbrella gonna keep us dry?" Asked Prim eying the magicked item.

Finnick laughed, "You sure pick them well, m'lady." He told Katniss with a wink, she simply grinned at him. "Good and skeptic! My kind of person!" He smiled at Prim. "Always question your surroundings, child. Always question things you aren't sure about!" He winked at the girl for good measure, and with a fluid motion, stuck the umbrella upside down under the downpour of rain.

In seconds, he brought it back closer to them, and showed them how a sizable amount of rain water had gathered in the center of the upturned umbrella. "See there? No leaks!" He smiled jovially at the girls, as they saw that, indeed, no water was running through the tightly woven blades of green.

"Okay..." Prim dragged out the word. "I guess it doesn't leak. Fine, you are good umbrella maker, I guess." She said blandly. She flicked her gaze to Katniss momentarily. "Are you gonna make me go back home now?" She asked slumping her shoulders.

"I have to. If your father is to trust me with you, I have to be responsible!" Said Katniss with a soft smile.

"Fine," said Prim morosely. "But, promise me, you will go home to America with me, no matter what Daddy says." Her pleading blue eyes bore into Katniss' grays.

"Of course I will, Primrose. I gave you my word, and I will stick to it!" She said firmly and crushed the girl into a tight hug.

Out of the corner of her eye, the Princess of the pixies, saw her cousin make a sudden movement with his head, she looked at him, and found him frowning in confusion with his head slightly quirked to one side. He gave her quizzical look, and then shook his head. "Abandoment issues," She mouthed at him, and he nodded slowly with sad kind of look.

"Well, dear ladies. Seeing as I was of use to the both of you, I think I will be going back to my humble abode!" He made a ridiculously low bow with some exaggerated arm gestures. Prim tought to herself that the funny male pixie was alright, so she responded to him with an equally exaggerated curtsy that made the two pixies laugh heartily. "Oh, and please do not forget your umbrella! I got a bit of a prick, right here on my finger... whilst I tried to bend a particularly nasty blade of grass!" He said lifting his left hand and making a show out of sucking his index finger that looked fine to Prim.

"Thank you!" Said Prim and nodded her head from her perch upon Katniss’ lap. Katniss smiled at Finnick.

"I'll be seeing you later!" She promised cheerfully.

"Oh... Hold on!" He said stopping his retreating feet. He turned to the young girl, fumbling for something in his trouser pocket for a bit, until he pulled put the little Hare's Tail pompom; he smiled brightly pleased with himself. "For you, little lass!" He exclaimed happily and offered to pompon to Prim.

Prim looked curiously at his proffered hand. His palm was open, and right in the middle rested the small tuft of white that made up the flower of Hare's Tail grass. She looked up at him. It was a nice gesture, for sure, the ball was fuzzier than a cotton ball and a bit bigger too, still, it was going to get ruined in the water, and it was a strange memento to give... Finnick smiled at her frowned forehead and pursed lips, then said,

"Go on. You can take it; it's only one more parting gift, from the pixie realm, if you please!" He encouraged. Prim finally extended her hand, and her frozen fingers closed on the small token.

"Thank you." She whispered, and Finnick smiled.

"The pleasure's all mine, little miss. I hope it will keep you warm in this dreary weather." With another dimpled smile, he stepped back, "Cheerio!" He said lightly, after casting a parting look Katniss’ way. And he shrunk to pixie size, right in front of them. In a second, he had flown downwards and out of sight.

"Whatever did he mean by that?" Wondered Prim aloud, "Keep me warm, how?" She said, still holding the little flower in her fist.

"Oh... Hare's Tail coats are the best!" Gushed Katniss smiling widely, "They're about the warmest thing in a pixies wardrobe. I'm sure you will love yours!" Said Katniss standing up from the ground, and dumping the water accumulated on the upturned umbrella that still had yet to leak.

"What? Wait... a coat? What do you a coat? If this is in fact a coat, wouldn't it be too small for me? I'm a human! What was that crazy man thinking?" Prim muttered unhappily.

"Well, why won't you take a peek? Finn is by no means daft! I'm sure he accommodated for size and all!" Said Katniss dismissively as she seemed to be getting ready to depart.

Prim finally opened her fist, to find that the flower was still the same size of a cotton ball, just softer and fuzzier. But then, she turned the flower in her fingers, and it started unfolding right before her eyes. It stopped unfolding when, instead of a small tuft of white material, she was clasping, with two hands, a soft white jacket. It was the same fur-like material as the grass flower, and it was indeed nicely warm.

Prim was speechless for a moment. "Is he for real?" She gasped lowly. "This is awesome!" She brought her forget-me-not blue eyes to Katniss, who smiled pleasantly at her.

"I'm glad you like it! Finnick will be pleased to hear you approved! Now, put the coat on, we will go back to your dwelling, I've been thinking you look a bit peckish!"

Katniss had other worries, besides facing Peeta, running through her mind right then. She would have to go tell her mother about her impending trip overseas, and she wasn't quite sure of what it would entail to undertake such a trip so far from home. The faster, she got through with Peeta, the faster she would know if her people would support her new endeavor.

 

======================

 

The timid knock on the door of the cottage wasn't even died out, when the wind swept around the pixie holding the girl's hand as the solid oak door was thrown open. A disheveled looking Peeta stood filling the doorway in a second.

His blue, worried eyes made a very fast sweeping scan over Prim's form, before landing on Katniss' face. The girl's eyes were glued to her soaked boots, while her father's eyes had narrowed accusingly at her companion.

"I've come to return something I think you've been missing." Katniss tried to sound lighthearted, she could see the storm gathering in his eyes already, and knew without a doubt, this was not going to be a quick affair.

"Prim, go to your grandmother's room and wait for me there." Was his response, delivered in a hoarsed voice, with trembling lips.

"Daddy..." She finally looked up at him as she tried to protest.

"Primrose, please do as I say!" He enunciated each word pointedly and eerily calmed.

"Go on, love. It will be alright!" Assured Katniss with a smile. She saw the rest of the family clustered in the background, looking anxious. Mrs. Mellark seemed to have been crying, judging by her red rimmed eyes, and the rest of the clan looked much like Peeta did, exhausted, distressed and ready to tear apart the cottage. Not that Katniss expected a cozy welcome, but the tension in that house was overwhelming and foreboding.

After Prim cleared the threshold, Peeta swept her in the rest of the way, with a gentle push of his fingers between her shoulder blades. She looked back at Katniss nervously, before her father stepped into the porch, and closed the door behind him, blocking her view. Katniss managed to send a small smile to her friend before the door had been shut.

"I thought I told you to stay away!" He barked at Katniss as soon as they were alone.

"What was I supposed to do? Let her wander aimlessly in the torrential rain? She called me to her, and even if she hadn't, I would've still gone to her!"

She lost her temper, right then and there. Now, why this small, seemingly inconsequential reaction would be of any relevance to our story? Only for the fact, that pixies don't usually know how to feel angry! Pixies are completely capable of empathizing feelings other humans are experiencing while they're around, sure, but they don't produced them on their own, and in that particular instance, a Pixie was feeling a plethora of emotions independently from her humans. Whatever Peeta Mellark was feeling, she was not reflecting back at him like and empathic mirror, she was flat out responding to it with heat of her own, actually being able to feel anger and directed at the person who had cause it accordingly. Sadly, what that meant for a Pixie wasn't completely a good thing, and if she hadn't been so wrapped up on feeling the emotion, the implications of this phenomenon, would've probably scared her out of her skin... Alas, the fact remained blissfully ignored.

"Plus," The princess pixie continued, "I know for a fact, this is not the first time she's ran off after being upset. So, before you try to accuse me of having anything to do with her running away, I will set you straight! I brought her back home as soon as she had calmed down enough to be reasoned with... You, are welcome!" She spat. He only seethed fisting and I un-fisting his hands at his sides.

"I was not going to accuse you of anything!" He sputtered turning red in the face, he felt a twinge of embarrassment, because he had been called out on his crap before he even had the chance to say it.

"Were you going to thank me, then? Privately?" She said crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot on the floorboards impatiently. "Is that why you wanted to be left alone with me? So no one would hear you, thanking me for an extraordinarily well done job taking care of your child? For being a responsible, positive presence in her life?" She demanded jutting her delicate chin out towards him.

"What?" He asked in exasperated surprise. "No! I can take care of my child on my own pretty well, thank you!" He snapped back.

"Of course you can!" She laughed derisively, "That's why I'm coming with you to America come morning!" She said haughtily. Her hip swayed to one side and stuck there as she spoke like a spoiled brat.

"W-wha... No you're not!" He stuttered. "You-you are pixie! You live here in Devon under a menhir, you can't just simply get up and leave!" He said raising his arms in protest.

"I have been invited!" She informed him petulantly, "By Primrose, thank you very much! There is absolutely nothing you can do to object!" She said once more on that childish superior tone that exasperated him so much.

"You..." She saw him lift an accusing finger in her direction that rapidly became a tight fist in midair. The movement startled her for a moment, and she disentangled her arms from her posture, slightly raising her hands defensibly, his eyes widened in surprise watching her reaction to his sudden movement. He groaned loudly, and brought both his hands up to harshly pull on his hair while turning away from her. He growled in frustration once more, and she heard him whispering faintly, under his breath, "I wasn't going to... I would never hurt... oh God!" He rubbed his face exasperatedly before turning back to face her, he let his right hand slide down his face roughly, and then he fixed her with his deep blue eyes, "You're infuriating!" He gritted through clenched teeth, staring her right in the eyes.

She pursed her lips and stiffened her stance, "So are you!" She said  scowling back at him.

And just like that, he turned his back on her, yanked the door open, and walked inside the house. The argument over.

"If you're not here by eight o'clock in the morning... we leave without you!" He snapped over his shoulder.

"Feed her before you send her to bed!" Was her immediate response, her voice loosing the defensive edge, now that the confrontation was done with. "Ground her for running off if you must, but do not let her go to bed on an empty stomach," She interceded for her friend, standing on tip toes as if straining to get her words out, to reach him before he shut the door closed on her, "No child should ever go to bed hugry, especially if her family has been blessed with food!" It was more like a plea to him. He nodded, as his hand rested on the doorknob. Then he entered, and the door closed with a soft click.

 

=====================

 

London was a wondrous city!

The bridges, the Thames, the buildings both modern skyscrapers and old architecture... They were all impressive, particularly if you were a pixie from the moorland that had only seen smaller houses, cozy cottages, and green nature your whole life. London wasn't at all what she imagined it would be. There were so many people walking on the paved streets, ducking under umbrellas when the rain showers came, and then their clothing was much more different than the ones worn by the old widows from Katniss' beloved Devon.

The pixie was fascinated with all the layers of garments worn by a women teetering on heels as high as a stack of ten of Finn's sugar cubes, one on top of the other, and as pointy as needles, who walked by her on the busy sidewalk; she stared after the woman for as long as she could before the posh lady disappeared around a corner.

"I take it, you like fashion?" The soft, soothing voice of the man walking next to her asked; Cinna, Ms. Trinket had called him when she introduced them after arriving at her apartment building. Cinna was Effie's next door neighbor, and he had been looking after Effie's plants (whatever that meant) while she was at her mum's cottage.

"Fashion?" Katniss asked in confusion.

"The clothes. The shoes and accessories," He tried to explained, but she still had confused look I her eyes, so he provided, "You were looking at that woman's clothings, as if you were deconstructing them, and sewing them back together in your head." He simple said smiling.

"Oh... That? I'm sorry if I did something rude, I didn't mean it that way" She chuckled lightly, and lowered her gaze to the sidewalk. "I guess I do like the clothing." She felt her cheeks warming with her shy confession. "I used to fashion my own wardrobe back home... But, I doubt I'd be any good at it now." She looked up at him, "It's not like I can tie together a few flower petals and create an appropriate dress to be worn by a human," she gave him small grimace, but he smiled at her benignly.

As it turned out, leaving her home behind had been a bit traumatic for her, more so, than she expected. She had been careless on the second night after arriving in London. She had been crying, missing her menhir, her mother and friends, she was tired, and caught a violent bout of hiccups.

During a particularly strong jerky move after a hiccup attack, she involuntarily flashed on and off in quick succession, her real blue skin color, whilst her wings flapped uncontrollably behind her back. Unfortunately, Cinna had chosen to walk into the abandon staircase she had been hiding at right the second that short circuit happened, and Katniss couldn't think of any suitable explanation other than to tell him the truth of who, and what she was.

To his credit, he never even flinched during her explanation; afterwards he offered her a bottle of water, and asked her to come up to the building rooftop for some fresh air. It was the beginning of a very sweet friendship; she didn't lie to him, and he accepted her just as she was, without questioning her supernatural origins.

"Portia and I could teach you how to make clothing, for yourself and  little Primrose, if that's something that would interest you." Cinna offered as they stepped into an old Victorian era looking building.

Katniss' eyes twinkled and lit up at the idea of making all sort of cute outfits for Prim, the thought excited her tremendously. She couldn't suppress the smile breaking at her lips. "Would you do that for me? That would be lovely, thank you!" She said grasping his bicep in gratitude, he laughed and nodded after a beat.

"I would certainly try to teach you as many sewing and designing techniques as I can, before your departure to America," He affirmed. "Now, let us go see about that pesky passport of yours, shall we?" He said pointing at a door inside the building lobby, it was labeled with only a number above it: 13.

Katniss nodded, and allowed her lips to set into a thin line before stepping away from her companion. "I won't be to long! Thank you for serving as my guide today, Cinna. You truly are the best!" She said as she stepped in the direction of the door numbered 13.

"I'm betting on you girl on fire!" He said with a soft laugh at their inside joke. She smirked.

The previous day, she had attempted to cook a Shepherd's Pie dish for the family; it ended being a horrendous disaster. She had mistaken some spices and added some awfully hot peppers to the ground beef. She took a tasting bite and quickly yelped, rushing to place her mouth under the rushing water of the faucet. In her haste to soothe the burning in her tongue, she left the stove burner on; she had dropped the pot holder so close to it, it caught on fire. The flames grew and grew in height until Effie screamed bloody murder.

Of course, Katniss quickly magicked the fire away, but all the Mellarks, Cinna and his twin sister, Portia, had come rushing into the very tiny kitchen at the sound of Effie's howls. Rye and Cinna then came up with the knick-name, although neither Peeta nor his mother thought it funny.

Marching into the unremarkable door, she found herself in what could be described as an antique shop, by the collection of mismatched antique furniture and decor, and the disgusting smell of mothballs that permeated the whole cavernous place.

"Welcome to Thirteenth District Notary and Civil Documentation Office, how may I be of service, Miss?" Said a nervous female voice, from the depths of the ' _office_ '. There were so many shelves littering the space, and every shelf was packed with little old looking knick-knacks, and tattered books, bound in very old leather, it was more like an old-artifact retirement home than an office. Katniss had never been in a second hand store before, but she surmised, this had to be a very close likeness.

She stepped further in, trying to locate the originating point where the voice came from; she had to sidestep and squeezed around oddly placed chairs, bookcases, and side tables, until she finally spotted a small double pane window, in the corner of the far off wall. As she approached the window, she saw a mousy looking woman, with ashen skin and dark hair, she seemed to have a nervous tick to her.

"Mmm, hello." Greeted Katniss with a small smile. "I hope I'm at the correct place. My mother provided me with this small card, and said to come here and ask for Wiress?" Her voice was tentative and a bit squeaky, as she handed the small printed business card to the woman.

"You've come to the right place, dear!" Said the woman brightening up considerably. " _I'm_ Wiress." She kind of giggled, "I'm, Head of the English chapter of the Human and Supernatural Beings Coalition office! Welcome! How may I help you, your highness?"

"Uh... How you'd...?"

"Your mother's name is signed on the back of the card. It's the only permission I will need from her, to grant you any help you require!" Said the woman giving Katniss a nervous little laugh as she straightened in her chair.

The thought of that card having her mother's signature approving of this adventure, hit her with the enormity of what was to come next, like nothing else had so far.

It was a nerve-wracking experience telling her mother about promising the little Mellark girl she'd go to America with her. She had expected opposition from the Queen, but instead, she found that her mother was already aware of her only daughter's plans, and only showed her support in her decision; same thing couldn't be said about the rest of the pixie colony.

Boggs had adamantly rejected the notion, saying that it was a dangerous affair, and the rest of the Elder Counsel opposed, but the decision rested solely on the Queen who said that a pixie's word was to always be upheld unless it directly violated safety precautions or exposed the existence of the pixies to the world in a reckless manner. She gave Katniss her blessing without much fuss, and provided her with all the things and information she thought would be necessary for her daughter to navigate the world of the humans. She even gave her a small token of her people, so she could stay connected with them regardless of the distance between them.

Mother and daughter embraced for a very long time, and the Queen whispered how proud she was of the pixie her child had become, right before planting an affectionate kiss on the top of her head. The last advice she gave the princess, was a warning her cousin and best friend had already given her: "Beware of the nature of your feelings toward the human man. You are a pixie, he is a human."

Katniss is broken off from her far away memories, when Wiress cleared her throat loudly. When she smiled at Katniss and subsequently turned to a filing cabinet that covered most of the wall adjacent to her desk, Katniss could have sworn she heard the woman mutter what sounded like hickory, dickory, dock. Then Katniss looked around again, finding all kinds of clocks on every surface of the room, on every wall, on every little table. She couldn't decide if the voice of nursery rhyme made sense or not, as the strange woman was clearly fond of clocks.

Wiress made another throat clearing sound, and looked at Katniss quizzically. Katniss realized, she still hadn't stated the reason of her visit, so she quickly approached the small little ledge under the window and braced both of her forearms on the little counter.

"I've come to apply for a passport, please." Said Katniss a little hesitantly.

"Of course. This process will take twenty four hours to be completed. I will also provide you with other documentation, just in case. One never knows what would we find in the outside world..." The woman opened a second filing cabinet, this one just at arm's reach from her desk, and pulled out a folder that looked entirely too flimsy, in comparison to the two reams of paper inside it.

After a minute of shuffling pages, Wiress had gathered a small stack of forms, that were swiftly pressed on a clipboard and passed to Katniss to fill out. Looking around herself, Katniss pulled a small open-armchair, upholstered in the most hideous canvas she had ever seen, a punch of psychedelia to the gut.

"'Name, as you preferred it appears in documents:'... Well... That's a silly question, why my name is Katniss of the Evergreens!" She muttered while chewing on the cap of the pen she was strangling in her fist.

"Yes m'dear, but, don't you think Katniss of the Evergreens, is a bit long and presumptuous?" Asked Wiress from behind the window in the wall.

"I suppose. I've never had a problem with it. But, I think I should keep it familiar." She said frowning at the form. After a minute, she started scribbling away, until the stack was filled in its entirety.

She turned in her application, and after taking note of the date and time to return to collect her new documentation, she shared a timid goodbye with Wiress, and left the curious little office. Cinna was still waiting where she left him. And they were on their way soon after. He had planned to take her clothes shopping, and wasn't taking no, for an answer.

"So, how did it go, my lady?" Asked Cinna with a quirk of his eyebrow, the sun made his slight golden eliner shine brightly.

"All things considered... I think It was a good day for the new Katniss Everdeen, 23, born and raised in Devon!" She said with a sideways smirk, as she looped her arm around his, and allowed him to guide her into the busy street. 

"Very Good!" Celebrated Cinna, "Espectacular!" She gave him a wide smile,

"Now... About this fabled street vendor, that serves the absolutely best fish and chips in London, you and Rye have been boasting about So much... Shall we pay them a visit, just to see if your claims are right?" She asked winking at him, and just then, as if to show her eagerness to try street gastronomy, her stomach made an embarrassingly loud noise of protest.

Cinna laughed heartily, "Very well! Let's go, you worthless thing! Let's go feed you."

 

=========================

 

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Exclaimed Portia as she held the 'pillowcase dress' Katniss had sewn for Prim on Cinna's sewing machine.

Cinna had made her what he'd call a pillowcase top, showing her step by step, how to replicate his work, and then showed the final results to his twin, who worked as a stylist for movie stars. Cinna was extremely proud of the marvelous work his pupil did on her first 'human dress'. Both pieces were made out of the same airy, floral material, with blossoms in bright summer colors and big shocking orange sashes to tie the neckline together into a bow.

"Now when you and Prim go out and about, you can wear matching outfits." Said Cinna in his characteristic, smooth, calm voice. He gave Katniss a smile, and she returned a beaming one his way.

"You think it's good?" She asked expectantly.

"I think you show a lot of promise," He said with a smirk and a wink.

"I have great inspiration in you! Really, I admire both of you and your talented work!" Gushed Katniss.

"You should see what my brother can do with velvet!" Chimed Portia in, releasing a belly laugh right away. The rest of them joined in. Katniss felt great, she was now eager to sew an entire wardrobe for Prim; she had learned the basics, and Cinna had promised to give her remote lessons through Skype... Whatever that was.

 

 

In a very rare moment of quiet, Katniss sat on the floor by one of the big windows looking down the street out of Effie's flat, a sketch book propped on her bended knees and pencil gracefully gliding along the pages. Sketching her future fabric creations, just like Cinna had instructed. She was humming an ancient lullaby, with her teeth sunk on her lower crooked lip, brows slightly furrowed in concentration and an intensity that hinted at worlds of imagination locked away in her mind.

Peeta had been watching her for the better part of the last fifteen minutes. Not blinking much, in case anyone was wondering. He sat there thinking about the best way to approach her. After hours of internal conflict, ranging from the unreasonable to the mildly maddening reasons as to why it was such a bad idea for him to re-befriend the pixie, he had concluded that even if there was a genuine argument supporting his dislike of Katniss, he had to be cordial with her... for Prim's sakes... Clearly. It wasn't that he was starting to miss his friendship with the damned pixie, not at all.

She finally stopped her doodling, and stretched first her arms, in an upward move, then her legs, which she extended stiffly in front of her, reminding Peeta of that lazy cat Buttercu, Prim had adopted a year ago, after finding him in the dumpster in the alley behind the bakery, the animal was the ugliest thing he had ever seen, missing half an ear, smooshed in face, half dead, full of fleas and feral. Peeta shook his head to clear the grimace and his face along the cobwebs in his brain, he had no freaking idea what prompted him to compare Katniss to that mangy cat.

He did get a nice long look at her long- mostly bare- legs before chastising himself for it. She yawned, and he figured it was finally time to man up and offer her a well deserved truce. Slowly he stood from the stool he had been sitting on, pretending to read a magazine, by the kitchen island. The flat had an open floor design, and all the living areas converged into a sizable open space.

Peeta cleared his throat, as to announce his intention of engaging her in conversation, and Katniss immediately froze in mid stretch, her hand massaging the back of her sore neck, while the other was occupied holding the pencil and book tightly to her side. Slowly, she turned her face to him; her eyes darted everywhere as if she had suddenly remembered it was just the two of them in the flat, and she was nervous to be with him.

"So... Um, Katniss..." He cleared his throat exactly three times in a row, before he could dislodge the words from his mouth, "Uh... So, how are you liking London so far?" He asked trying to sound friendly, it came out awkward and stilted, and he had to fight his facial muscles to keep from cringing... He truly sounded like an idiot.

"Alright," She answered cautiously, raising an eyebrow. "You?" She returned curiously.

"Oh... I've been here before. I guess I know all the touristy sights, and lately I'm trying to see if I can blend more in with the English crowd," he smiled at her sincerely, if not a bit sheepish. "Although, I'm certain my efforts would immediately be thwarted as soon as I opened my mouth, and my southern-American accent gives me away." This time his smile is big and brilliant.

She smiled at him, "For what is worth, I love your accent." She supplied shyly. "Mine is going to stick out like a sore thumb as well when we arrive to America, so I think it's alright." She shifted her eyes to rest on her lap. She was blushing, and for the life of him, Peeta could _not_ stop staring at her pink cheeks, nor could he understand why his heart stuttered at the sight.

"I guess," He agreed softly, "It'll totally be okay, though. People are going to love you, you know. You are nice and friendly, and those are attributes anyone is attracted to in any language." He said right after shaking his head from all the fog. "People back home love a nice foreign accent, and they will ask you questions about it... Just be prepare to be asked truly ignorant stuff, specially if you meet my fiancée's best friend, Glimmer," She finally looked up back at him, and caught him rolling his eyes as he mentioned the name of his girl's friend. Katniss smiled gratefully.

"Thank you. You are... Nice too." Katniss answered. "At least, when you like to be it," Peeta sighed, walking in her direction, until he was standing a foot away from her. He crouched to be closer to her level.

"I know I haven't been very nice to you, or Prim for that matter. I've been horrible and very negative. I owe you both an apology for my behavior." He said and fixed his forget-me-not blue eyes on her gray ones, she could not hold his gaze for very long, in fact she blushed again, and shook her head.

"There's no need to apologize to me," she started.

"Yes. There is. You have done nothing but help us when we had needed you, and I've been so unfairly angry at you for things that aren't your fault, or were out of your control. I'm sorry, Katniss. I truly am." He said sounding more like himself to his own ears. He actually felt like a weight had been lifted. "So, I was thinking, I will stop acting like I'm wounded for things that were completely my own doing, and see if we can give this friendship thing a shot. What do you think about that? Sounds like an okay plan to you?" He gave her a genuine smile, which she readily returned with an eager nod. "Good! We won't be doing Prim any favors, if we can't be friends and communicate with each other."

"I agree!"

"So, how do we go about this whole friendship thing then?" He asked peering at her with a smirk. She cocked her head for a moment, thinking their options.

"Well, first we need to figure out the deep stuff..." She said cocking her head sideways, as if she thinking hard about it.

"The deep stuff?" He asked confusedly, not duly know where she was going with it.

"Yeah... For example, can you hold your on in a battle to the death?" She said smiling wickedly, he knew she was up to something completely different to what he expected, so he bit, curious.

"It depends on the conflict," He answered smiling back.

"Good! I saw Rye had an Xbox console tucked away in his suitcase. Do you think he'll mind if we give it a go?" She said in a mischievously sweet voice that made Peeta laugh heartily.

"Sure. Why not? But, fair warning, I'm a master gamer, so prepare yourself!" She responded with a laugh.

"Bring it on Mr. Mellark, I'm confident all these years of accompanying lonely children had taught me how to handle a controller."

"Then it's a challenge!" Said Peeta springing to his feet. "I'll get the system, you get the TV ready?" She nodded, then he stopped dead halfway to the room where Rye's bag sat in disarray. "Katniss... There's something very important I need to ask before I bring out the console... Because the success of this whole friendship thing depends from your answer," He asked with urgency, she looked at him with great seriousness, ready to answer, she nodded prompting him to ask his question feeling her nerves flare. His face dead serious, "Inverted or not-inverted axys?" 

Katniss' smile grew and grew and grew. "Inverted. Purist!" She said softly, he nodded approvingly and retuned her smile with a shy one of his own.

"Good. This may yet have hope!" And he was gone still smiling to himself.

An hour later, Mrs. Mellark, Prim and Effie, walked in on an animated Battlefield 4 fest. Katniss squealing in outrage at how fast her character kept dying, as she smashed buttons on her controller indiscriminately, while Peeta shouted instructions at her excitedly as he waved his own controller above his head. It was obviously clear, the pair had finally come to an understanding at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inverted vs Not-Inverted axys, is a mayor debate, at least in my household, for avid gamers. I do not-inverted or 'normal' mode, for what my husband says he's ashamed of calling me his wife... He's clearly being dramatic by the way... He's totally in love with me and can't stop trying to show me off to everyone he knows ;)
> 
> My Aunt went to London on vacation, and was told by some people she met at the airport that she had to go try the best 'fish 'n chips' in the world at this street vendor thing... She was disappointed to find out fish and chips is just fish and fries... Me on the other hand, can't wait to go try 'em... Love fish and love fries, what's not to like?!?!?
> 
> I know the chapter is much shorter than my usual fare, and I apologize for it, but I figured something sweet and short was better than nothing at all. I wish I could promise you that updates will come regularly now, but I can't assure you that, although I love, love, loooove my Pixie world, I just have too much stuff on my plate right now; I'm fixing my new house up so I can move in before my hair turns silver, and the gray hairs have already started to sprout (Ugh). Anywho, thanks for still supporting this fic... It's not by any means abandoned, just, slow going. 
> 
> Many exciting things going on this month, MJ2 will be the death of me for sure, but I'm not sure I'll be able to watch it before Thanksgiving, so if you do go see it, please enjoy for me too! 
> 
> Leave me a comment bellow, or come find me on tumblr at alliswell21. You guys rock!


	5. London Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to my girls Loving_mellark, S and Shellibug for making this fic better than I could ever had manage, without their contributions! You gals rule!
> 
> Art by Loving_mellark. Beta-read and mistake checked by S.
> 
> This particular chapter is dedicated to Shellibug, who has replaced Hermione Granger as my favorite British girl in the whole wide world! She didn't type the chapter, but there's a part she basically wrote for me, and I love her for it! Thanks for the inspiration Shelli! You rock!

Katniss and Primrose had spent the long hours of the evening packing their huge suitcases. Peeta had to shop for a bigger bag for Prim, which allowed Katniss to take the old one for herself. The two girls were tired of the monotonous task of folding and shoving things into the bags in a space efficient way, when suddenly...

"Aaargh!" bellowed the young blonde pulling a finger inside her mouth. The Princess of the Pixies flew on her huge wings, to aid her charge when noticed the girl's finger had a small blood bead on.

"What happened, Prim?" Katniss asked with concern, pulling Prim's hand closer to her face, to examine the ouchie closer.

"I poked my finger with something sharp and pointy," Prim groused. "That's it! I'm done! Screw it! Daddy can finish it for me!" declared Prim, disdainfully shoving the half full bag away from her with her uninjured hand.

"Aww, you poor thing. Let me take a look," said Katniss in a half amused, half mocking tone. "Ooh, it's like a needle just poked you... oh no!" said Katniss dramatically. "Please, lay down Prim! I don't know if you'll survive the blood loss!" The pixie shoved the girl down onto her mattress, and quickly fluttered above Prim's prone form, trying to cover her with a fleece blanket and an exaggerated expression of worry on her face. "What am I going to tell your father? What am I going to do? Oh, dear! Quick, think of a way in which I can bring you back to life, in the event that you pass out!"

By then, the girl was rolling in her bed laughing at Katniss' antics. She tried to sit up, just to be pushed back down by the pixie, who gave her a stern glare, but soon lost her composure as well and broke on a fit of laughter. The two of them were having such a great time already; Katniss was sure things would go splendidly once in America, no doubt about it.

"Oh, I have an idea!" said Prim still snickering. "Find me a Prince Charming to wake me up. Daddy would love that, plus it's in all the fairy tales, and we all know how _Fairies_ are always right!" Prim saw how Katniss' laughter died at the cheeky comment, her face turned into a glaring scowl; the blonde girl couldn’t keep a straight face watching the pixie seething silently at the mention of fairies. Prim was laughing even harder this time, she even had to hold her stomach as her sides started to hurt from the muscle motions it took to laugh so hard.

Katniss scowled a bit longer, before slamming a discarded accent pillow on the girl's face. "Hey! Not fair. I wasn't expecting that!" yelped Prim still laughing, she shot out of bed then, and grabbed a towel, since it was the closest thing she could reach, and it was decidedly very handy when she starter throwing lashes in her friend's direction.

"Oi! Now who's being unfair? My weapon doesn’t have the long range yours does!" answered Katniss dodging the corner of the towel as it flipped and coiled back, right next to her.

They kept going back and forth, laughing and swinging, until a male voice called loudly at the door of the bedroom. "Girls! What in tarnation are you two doing?"

Katniss let the pillow fall immediately, but Prim managed to throw a last sweesh getting her opponent right on the bum. The pixie only swallowed her cry of pain and surprise, momentarily glaring at the cheating girl, while rubbing her buttocks as dignified as she could given the circumstances.

Finally, they faced Bill, who stood inside the door frame, shaking his head and sighing deeply. He rolled his eyes, "Okay you two, supper is about ready. I was gonna tell you to take a break, but it seems you already have." He gave them a pointed look, that made Katniss feel a new sensation she'd never experienced before: _embarrassment_.

It was unclear to her if she felt it of her own volition, or as a mirroring empathic gesture to Prim. She had no time to think on it, because Peeta came into view right then, and as soon as their eyes met, she was sure whatever she felt there was purely her's, and it was uncomfortably and scary. A twinge of shame, mixed with anxiety and uncertainty, churned in the pit of her stomach, wondering what did Peeta think of her right then, but when he smiled at her and then at Prim, she felt relief beyond measure washing away her worries. She attributed these feelings, at her need to keep things civil between them, for Prim's sakes, and that made her feel better in tandem.

"Let them have some fun, uncle grumpy!" said Rye coming behind both his brothers. "They deserve it, they've been at it for a very long time, and packing is boring as heck!"

"Yeah, but, did they need to be so loud, and make such a mess of the room?" said Bill weakly, as he took off walking towards the living areas.

"Well, yes... kids are loud," answered Katniss seriously, looking around the bedroom for the first time, to see it wasn't incredibly messy in the least; it'd only take them five--ten minutes tops--to straighten the pillows and bedding.

"They sure are messy, too!" agreed Peeta, quickly adding, "You were a kid yourself at some point, Billy, don’t you remember?"

"Never! I was never a child, or younger than I am now! It never happened and you can't convince me otherwise!" Bill said firmly, hiding his unease behind his attempt at joking.

Peeta gave his big brother a sympathetic smile, "Well, you'll just have to get used to it, big bro! Once your little one is home, you and Vinie, will have to kiss your quiet existence bye-bye for good!" Peeta's smile was sweet but laced with amusement at the same time. "It's not so bad though, you'll find you won't mind the chaos once you have it!"

Bill only nodded and said something in answer under his breath, only meant for his little brother's ears. Rye patted Bill's shoulder as he passed him by, before turning his attention to the girls.

"Alright kids," conspiratory tone and hands rubbing together, Rye looked positively impish, "Let's show these squares how a real party is done!" He mock whispered wagging his eyebrows, smiling more broadly than the Cheshire cat. Both Katniss and Prim looked at each other with wide eyes and twin questioning expressions on their faces.

Prim shrugged and simply said, "Come on, Katniss, Uncle Rye always knows how to make everyone crazy!"

"Alright... I'm right behind you, then," said Katniss, and the two of them left the room and their half packed bags behind.

In the living room, Mrs. Mellark and Effie were setting the dining table, while Bill served hot food in deep plates, and Peeta tossed a salad on the other side of the counter. Rye made a beeline, straight for the entertainment center placed against the far end wall.

No one spared them any attention as the three of them crossed the room. Soon, Rye was messing with some buttons and dials and remote controllers, and the television came to life, quickly, he then plugged Effie's laptop computer to a cable that went to feed the TV screen, which suddenly displayed the YouTube logo; after a minute or so, the blank screen was filled with Taylor Swift's face, and her video of 'Shake It Off' was set on cue, waiting to be played.

Rye turned to look at the two girls, that were still exchanging amused looks between themselves, and with a shrug of his shoulder, he asked smiling crookedly, "Did you girls wanna dance with little ol' me?" Both girls giggled in unison, Katniss shook her head ruefully, while Prim nodded enthusiastically.

Rye smiled again, "Alrighty then, prepare yourselves to _shake it off_ ," with a wink, he pressed the play icon, and the popular song started blaring through the surround sound system's speakers.

Katniss and Prim were goofily bouncing and moving their arms is sync to the beat of the music. They didn't have any elaborate, or even coherent dance moves, but they were shaking their bodies in comical ways, like it was a competition of who could come up with the silliest moves. And soon Rye was just running laps around them, prancing in bad imitation of a figure skater. They sang at the top of their lungs, making up lyrics when they couldn't remember the actual ones.

Then Prim stood on the tip of her toes, arms and hands extended above her head, and started twirling about, laughing and swinging from side to side. Katniss gracefully lifted from the ground and displayed her fully opened luna-moth wings, and started a complicated pixie dance of her own in mid air.

Everything was fun and laughter, and the song only had a few seconds left to run when Mrs. Mellark turned down the volume of the music, abruptly ending their carefree moment. Everyone came to a sudden stop, and Katniss jerked her wings back out of sight so fast, she plopped on her feet with a thud.

"Uh excuse you..." started Rye, who was promptly cut off by his mother. 

"No, excuse _you_! Didn't you hear me hollering at you, to turn down that nerve wrecking noise, you kids dare call music?" Mrs. Mellark's lips were pressed together on a thin line, her brows met in the middle of her forehead, an utter look of disgust on her face.

"Mom! What was that for?" complained Peeta, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel. Katniss stared at him in awe, because he looked so genuinely frustrated, it was almost bordering on anger. "They were having fun, there's nothing wrong with 'em enjoying themselves. You didn't have to be so rude about it!" he objected further.

"Me, rude? What about them? They ignored me, when I first asked them to lower the volume. I only acted like a responsible person. We can't have this ruckus going on, disturbing the peace and quiet of dear Effie's neighbors," countered the Mellark matriarch clutching her chest as if she had been deeply offended.

"Oh, heavens no, dear cousin!" interjected Effie joining everybody in the living room, "The walls in this building, are sound proof! They provide the utmost privacy to the tenants. Why, it was the main feature that attracted me to the property in the first place. Besides, Cinna and Portia throw the most lavish parties every so often, and I never so much as hear a peep coming from their side of the floor! It is perfectly alright if the girls want to dance to loud music; in fact, I was about to join them my self! They seemed to be having the loveliezt of times... it just looked so fun!" Effie's cheerful response provoked Mrs. Mellark to narrow her blue, dull eyes at the extravagant woman.

There was no telling if Effie's words were genuine or if she was just trying to defend the girls and Rye in her own, oblivious Effie way. Mrs. Mellark simply huffed a mumbled response that sounded like "Do what you like to do. I get no respect from anyone, anymore!" and stomped right back into the kitchen.

During the whole messy affair, Katniss had caught Peeta's gaze. He had been intently looking at her, as she shrunk back in on herself. She realized she wasn’t very big with confrontations with Mrs. Mellark, at least when it was something she'd done, as opposed to the few times she had stepped in to defend the children from their angery mother, but that had been ages ago. The thought surprise her, but it was true; if she only had to defend herself, she was not very willing to fight.

Katniss' eyes met Peeta's across the room, and she felt her face heat up suddenly. Her palms felt sweaty, and it wasn't for all the bouncing and dancing. No, this was a clammy, cold, and nervous kind of sweat, she had no understanding of. The pixie only knew, it was somehow connected to the way her stomach felt, like taking a low a dip, when her eyes met Peeta's, and she realized he had been staring at her for who knows why, or how long. His eyes were still on her, so she let hers fall to the tiled floor beneath her.

Katniss was confused by her reaction to Peeta. She felt embarrassed and uncomfortable, and decided it was time to go back to packing, so she moved closer to Prim to whisper her intentions, when Bill announced it was time to sit down at the table for supper.

Everyone started to file to the dining table, and Katniss’ eyes were still looking down at the patterns of the floor, when she felt the warmth of a gentle but big hand, lightly on her shoulder, stopping her from progressing further into the next room. She looked up to find Peeta's eyes still intently studying her.

"So... tomorrow, Mother is taking Prim to see one of her distant relatives. You know how she likes to show her grand baby off." He snorted a mirthless chuckle, "Anyway... you still need to collect your passport. So, I was thinking, I could go with you?" He looked... Hopeful? His expression further confused the pixie, she wasn't used to these strange feelings and interactions, but he kept on talking in a rush, "I mean, I can accompany you, so you don’t get lost... Not that I'm an expert here in London, but... I, um, feel, I owe it to you, to take you out..." He cringed with his own words, and started to look a bit green, "Uh... not _take you out_ , like you know, taking you _out_... more like, I'll take you get your stuff, and then I was wondering if you wanted to go see, um, like a museum, or something with me. I mean, it's just a friendly excursion to London, and I love just getting to see the... Um... that... uh..."

Peeta stopped breathing for just a second, he was a moment away from hyperventilating. He felt like an idiot, tripping all over himself trying to speak to Katniss... it was _just_ Katniss, for crying out loud! All he was supposed to do was inform her that he was to escort her to pick up her documents the next day, and since it was their last day in England, he wanted to go visit a few places he hadn't the chance to yet. He was going to ask her if she minded, if he went to a few places while they were out. So simple.

Why was talking to the pixie so difficult all of the sudden? And why did he have to go and make it weird? He wasn't trying to ask her on a date or anything--he was engaged to be married, for goodness sakes! He just wanted to go do stuff, and he wanted to know if she was game, they were friends. Friends went to the museum together, without it being a date, right?

He could tell, by her facial expressions, she was thoroughly confused... and she looked so darned beautiful when she was at a loss, with her head cocked to the side and her gray eyes wide and questioning, her lips slightly parted as if she was getting ready to ask him to clarify himself... Wait, _beautiful_? Where the fuck did that thought come from? Now he was back to hyperventilating and swallowing thickly, and he saw her eyes grow in alarm, he had to fix it somehow, before it all escalated into some kind of debacle.

"Look, Your Highness, what I'm trying to say, is..." He took a deep breath, "I'm taking you to get your passport. And since we will have a lot of time to burn tomorrow, I would like to go to a couple places. Sightseeing... If you don't mind the extra time out, of course," There! Much better! Even Katniss looked more at ease.

"Oh," She breathed out in relief, "Sure. Of course. That sounds lovely. I think I would enjoy sightseeing. I haven't done much of that." She sounded eager now, and Peeta finally relaxed the tension on his shoulders and exhaled a chuckle.

"Yeah. Great! So... you'll allow it?" He said smiling brightly, as his fingers carded through his blonde curls. "I mean, would you allow me to escort you around London tomorrow?" He clarified, just to be sure.

"Yes. I'll allow it," she responded mirroring his face-splitting smile.

 

* * *

 

 

"There you are, Highness!" drawled Wiress, carefully passing a medium size, clasped manila envelope to Katniss, through the tiny opening of the sliding glass window. "Passport. A secondary form of identification, just in case. One never knows when those things would be necessary, and last but not least, all your bank account information, plus a credit card, and the accompanying manual booklet for managing human currency," Wiress punctuated each word, by marking checks on a document inside a folder she had on her desk on the other side of the window. "That should be all, for now. Do you have any questions pertaining any of the documents you just acquired, or do you think we can offer you any other services?"

Katniss unclasped the envelope and peeked inside, she saw the little deep red booklet that identified her as a British citizen and allowed her entrance to other countries. She was curious to see the contents of the booklet, but instead, looked up to address Wiress, sporting a grateful smile.

"Thank you so much, Wiress. I do have a question, though," Katniss cleared her voice for a second, before continuing. "I never applied for a bank card, or anything of the sort. How is it that I got one?" She was genuinely curious about the credit card and bank account, she wondered if those were required items for traveling overseas.

"I got a message from her Royal Majesty, the Queen of Pixies," Wiress responded simply. "She made the order herself, and made the arrangements for the money to be transferred to a human bank. As you are aware, pixies, or supernatural creatures rather, have no use for things as currency. That is not to say, though, that there are certain occasions, such as right now, when a pixie needs money, so we provide that as well," the woman fidgeted for a second, before smiling pleasantly.

Katniss got the impression Wiress was some kind of eccentric person, for she seemed to get lost in thought mid-sentence or fidget nervously for no apparent reason a lot.

"Anywho, m'lady, everything you need to know, about how to make use of your credit card, and bank notes is in the manual, inside your envelope. It's simply titled 'Finances'. Of course, everything varies from one country to the next, so keep in mind any questions you may have for the Human and Supernatural Creature Liaison representative,  of the city of your destination. Somebody has been notified of your impending arrival in America, and will serve as a consultant in all things human, while there."

"Mmm, well, if that's the case... thank you so much. I thought for a moment the whole bank thing was something you gave everyone with their other documentation, but it does explain a lot. I had no idea Mother was still trying to help me." said Katniss with a softness in her voice that made Wiress soften as well.

"No, ma'am, banking is not a standard service we provide to everyone, we do for royalty. Her Majesty also recommended that you, and your human companions, come up with some kind of occupation for yourself, suitable for a person with the flexibility to relocate for an extended period of time to a different continent. As you see... mothers will always look out after their children, no matter what. May I suggest 'recent university graduate, taking a long holiday before starting work in the adult world'? Perhaps, there would be other avenues, her big gneiss can explore, more fitted to your liking."

"Thank you once more, Wiress, for all of your help. I will think about it, and have the Mellarks weigh in other ideas," said Katniss with a small nod, clasping the envelope shut, and sliding it inside her purse for safekeeping.

"Not at all, it was my pleasure, Your Highness! Please, do come see us again, if you are in need of anything else. I wish you a safe journey. May the odds be ever in your favor!"

With a wave of her hand, Katniss turned around and left the small cramped office seeking Peeta, who patiently waited for her, seated on a bench on the ground floor.

"Everything alright?" he asked as soon as he saw her. She felt a strange jolt in her stomach, when she saw him smiling at her after she nodded her assent. "Good!" He said offering her the crook of his arm, "Ready to go?"

He waited until her small, delicate hand was safely wrapped around his elbow, before stepping outside of the building, then he smiled down at her and asked in a soft voice, "Would you like to walk, hop in a taxi or take the underground from here?"

She thought about it for a moment, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, then she asked shyly, "Will it be alright if we did the underground and the walking, perhaps? Of course, all depending on where we are going. I didn't get to ride the underground with Cinna. He drove me around in his car, and the sights were incredible, but I've never been on a train before."

"It's quite alright! I actually think the underground will be much faster than anything else, I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable down there. It tends to get claustrophobic when there's a lot of people, and the air isn't exactly fresh, but it's cheaper than a taxi, and faster than walking," He smiled at her again, and she blushed for some strange reason.

He loved the way she looked, so pure and innocent, so sweet, and lovely... he took a sharp breath and looked away from her, he had to stop looking at her like that! She was a pixie, he was a man; he couldn't develop a crush on a pixie. He didn't even know how old she was! She could be a hundred years old, for all he knew.

"Come on, then! Let’s find us a station!" she said looping a second hand over his arm, pulling him forward, oblivious to the troublesome feelings stirring inside his chest. "I've never been to the tube! I cannot wait to see it all!"

Her enthusiasm made him chuckle lightly. "To the underground it is, my lady," he said and guided them away from the building where the Liaison was housed.

 

* * *

 

Katniss practically skipped as they left Charing Cross station, she was babbling about how exciting it had been to ride 'the tube', until she looked up and was met with an impressive view of Trafalgar Square, considered the heart of London by most. "I know this place!" she said breathlessly as her wide eyes swept around the famous landmark.

"Cinna brought me around here, to show me the school of arts and fashion he and Portia attended... St. Martin's? I think it must be named after the church?" she asked herself thoughtfully, looking towards the church at the north side of the square by the same name. Peeta only nodded, a bit disappointed she had been to the square before.

"Yeah... maybe," He said noncommittal, "Um, did you go into the National Gallery?" he asked quietly, since that was the actual place he was hoping to go anyway. When she shook her head 'no', he smiled smugly, and his chest puffed out cockily, "Then that's our destination, little lady!" She took his arm again, and off they went into the museum.

After they had wandered around the National Gallery, Katniss' stomach rumbled loudly. It was closed to lunch time, so Peeta decided to go and look for a place to eat. She promptly told him she was partial to street vendors, and that she had a new found taste for fish 'n chips, to which he agreed immediately.

They discussed their options from there, they could go into the many historical buildings around the square, just to look at the architecture, but Katniss wanted to go to the Tower. She had heard about the trolls that lived nearby and she wanted to see if the stories were true.

They decided to go on to the Tower of London, and also take the time to see the Tower Bridge, and the Thames, so they cleaned after themselves, and went on to look for another train station.

Peeta was glad they decided on visiting the Tower, it was a sunny day, and he was enjoying himself greatly! They did a lot of walking. They bought a little audio tour, since they didn't want to wait for one of the guard people to guide them around. Being inside the tower walls felt like they were in a different time altogether. It was bizarre to see people using their smartphones and wearing blue jeans and sneakers, while standing in such an ancient looking place; the Tower definitely warranted one to dress appropriately in period costumes, and Katniss decided she should do just that!

The crafty princess found several wildflowers in rich colors, and went to work on her gown, then she smiled sheepishly at Peeta, "Would you mind if I make myself my natural size?" she asked holding up her tiny yellow and red petal ball gown. In reality, he did mind, _he couldn't be on a date with a freaking butterfly!_

But, he _wasn't_ on a date; he was just walking around the beautiful ancient city of London with his daughter's pixie, so he banished the thought quickly, and told her that he "didn't mind at all" so she shrank and donned her dress, then she perched herself on his shoulder, trying to look inconspicuous, as much as a luna moth could be, in the middle of the sunny day.

"Katniss, you're gonna have to fly around some," he muttered under his breath after the third person looked at him bewildered. " _That,_ or turn back into human size," he added a bit more bitingly. She laughed, and he was utterly surprised to have heard the tinkling bells of her laughter, he'd never heard her when she was that small before.

Still, Katniss remained her own size, simply fluttering around Peeta for a second longer, then around some potted flowers, and finally went behind a deserted bend, stepping out in human size. She wore a modified version of the red and yellow gown she'd fashioned herself out of flower petals, moments earlier. Her new dress, was a short A-line dress, with a square neckline, scalloped sleeves, and a form fitting top that showed her tiny waist before the skirt fanned out. Her two inch heel peep-toe shoes, matched the red of her dress perfectly.

She approached Peeta blushing prettily, her eyes fixed to the stone ground. Once in front of him, she said shyly, "Peeta... you're staring."

He was. What was worse, he was all too aware, of how much he wanted to coil his arm around her ridiculously tiny waist, claiming her as his. _God! What was he doing?_

"Uh... I think it’s time to go back. I mean... I got us tickets for the Eye, and we should... uh... are you hungry? I'm hungry! We should go get some ice cream or something!" he declared yanking her by the hand, rushing back to the Tower of London entrance.

Yes, he needed ice cream, buckets full of it, dumped straight on his head until it covered his body entirely because he was 100% sure, he had never been this hot for a girl before; the knowledge, scared him to death.

"Peeta, we haven't seen the crown jewels, or the trolls under the Traitor's Gate, or..."

"Another day, honey... er, _Katniss_ , I meant, _Katniss_! As I said... tickets... London Eye... beautiful view of the city from above, and all that jazz... we were never going to see the whole thing here, anyway!" he stammered waving his hand in circular motions, all throughout the trip to reach the underground station.

Yes, getting away from romantic atmospheres was the answer. A train full of smelly people, going back home after a long day of work, was the ticket to beat the romance out of the situation... but then, he was hyper aware of every single man surrounding Katniss, even if they weren't looking at her.

He kept an eye out, and if one guy dared look at her, he gave him the evil eye; for the looks of it, whatever he was doing was very effective, as more than once a guy would look her way, to quickly veer his gaze away upon meeting his blue, hard and cold eyes, shooting death threats like radio waves. He couldn’t wait to be off that infernal trap!

Peeta was glad he rushed them out of the Tower earlier than he had planned. There was a humongous line waiting to board the Eye. He was also glad for Bill's annoying habit of insisting upon buying tickets online in advance, because there was another never-ending line to buy tickets for the ride.

The two of them found a place at the very back of the line, and waited patiently for the time to tick by. Their reservation wasn't for another twenty minutes, so he got frozen treats as he had originally suggested. Now that heat of the moment had passed, the treat was an 'attaboy!' for himself, for keeping his head in a confusing and inappropriate situation.

It wasn’t anything fancy, just a pair of popsicles. Hers was red and his was blue. He had no idea what flavors they were eating, but he liked the way his throat seemed to accept the icy cold, soothing him. He enjoyed it greatly. He still stole glances at her, watching her gobble up her Popsicle. 

"Katniss... how old are you?" he blurted out of the blue, surprising himself, he was idly playing with the Popsicle stick between his fingers.

Katniss was still working on hers, nearly choking on a bite, trying to answer his question. She coughed loudly, and rubbed her hand around her collarbone to create some heat in her throat.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asked concerned, after patting her on the back.

She smiled at him sheepishly, clutching her chest. "Yes... I'm fine..." she rasped, "Thank you." She straightened up, and stood a pace back, righting her dress for a second, before looking back at him. She smiled again, cleared her throat and said, "I'm about twenty five springs old,"

He looked at her confusedly. "Um... not that the wording isn't beautiful, but, in human years... how much is that?" he asked frowning a little.

She laughed, the sound of tinkling bells reached his ears, and he could  only look at her mesmerized.

"Time runs the same for us, silly!" she said, playfully mock slapping  his bicep. "We just never get sick, or physically age much older than we already look... actually we are hatched-- _born_ \-- whatever you want to call it, looking as thus," she said with a downward motion of her hand, pointing at herself.

He was thoroughly confused, so he asked again, "Wait, are you telling me, you are twenty five years old in human, but you've always looked the way you do right now?" His incredulity was palpable in his voice, his blue eyes narrowed as if trying to catch her in a lie.

She laughed again, and same effect as before, took over him upon hearing it. "Yes, pretty much so."

"So you are actually younger than me?" he said still disbelieving. She smiled and nodded.

"Yes," she confirmed, "I came into existence after your third spring... or birthday, if you please. We are not that far apart in age, you see. It's even less than three years, if you take into account how your birthday is not actually in Spring." She smiled broadly at him, and he felt warmth spread on his chest at the sight.

"Well, that's just weird... I always thought you were... I don't know... hundreds of years old, or something" he said quietly, scuffing a rock with the toe of his shoe. 

"Oh... um, no... not _hundreds_ of years old... only a quarter of a century," she said still smiling.

He smiled at her too. And then saw time for them to board had come, so he took her hand and snaked around the line, to find an attendant to show their reservation for the ride. In no time, they had boarded their glass capsule.

Peeta was surprised to see they got one all to themselves, as one capsule was supposed to hold around twenty people at a time, he wasn't going to complain about their good fortune. Soon enough, he realized he sorely wanted the distraction of other people in the cart.

He never took into account, that embarking in the London Eye, at sunset was going to be the epitome of romance.

The view was breathtaking: the sun was still warm and inviting, the shimmering water of the Thames under them reflected softly at them, and the city looked spectacular from up high.

They could see _everything_ from up there. As the sun made its subtle descent, the city came back to life, as lights started to pop Aand twinkle in the distance. They saw every important landmark in London as they looked both during the day, and then during the night. The view was priceless!

"It truly is magical, to behold the sights, isn't it?" asked Katniss in awe, when they reached the very top point of the ride. She had been looking out to the city, her palms flat against the glass wall of the gondola. She sighed and her breath left a streak of condensation on the glass.

The only reason Peeta knew all of this, was because he had been staring at her the whole time, ignoring the view outside their glass capsule; for him, the sight was magical to behold indeed.

He had unconsciously gravitated to her side, so close that the tips of his fingers were actually skimming lightly, over the small of her back without having to stretch his arm to reach her.

She looked up at him slowly, and he couldn't help but flicked his gaze between her soft gray eyes, and her tempting pink lips.

"Wouldn't you agree, it's all so pretty?" She sighs, "The sights, I mean." she elaborated quietly.

He nodded, still shifting between her lips and eyes, "Yes," he agreed, "very pretty indeed... beautiful even," he whispered back, because, darn it if he thought she was pretty!

His hand had finally come to fully rest on the small of her back, and it was making a slow ascend to her neck without his permission, her lips parted and she simply stared into his eyes, his face was so close to her's soon their noses would be touching, and then he inched his head closer to hers, so close, only another micro inch and--

The jarring sound of the obnoxious customized, polka ringtone, Rye had uploaded to Peeta's cell phone for himself, rang off loudly, disrupting the quiet atmosphere that had fallen around them, effectively shattering the moment in the worst possible way. Peeta could kill Rye, just about then. The ringtone was as irritating as his brother, so he guessed it suited him.

"What?" Peeta barked into the phone as he answered the call.

"Um... Daddy? Is everything okay? I didn't mean to interrupt or anything but..." Prim hesitated nervously on the other end of the line, Peeta felt guilt run over him, like a bucket of cold water.

"Oh, hello, sweetpea... how, um, how is it going?" He tried to sound nonchalant, but he knew it was a little too late, he winced when she asked him again if he was alright. "Yeah, of course we're fine... why... um... why wouldn’t we be?" he asked a bit nervous himself.

"Well, it’s just the two of you out there, and it's been the whole day, and I know you can't seem to stand each other for too long... I was wondering if you guys were doing fine." Peeta could hear the worry in his daughter's croaky voice, "Also, I was gonna ask, if you wanted to pick up some chinese food, on y'all's way back to Effie's?" She finished in a question, but her voice was still guarded. Peeta felt real guilty then, because he saw exactly how it looked to his daughter when he answered the call so aggressively.

Judging by what she'd seen from both, him and Katniss interactions so far, Prim had every right to worry that by now, him and the pixie would be at each other's throats... And not in the erotic way, his brain had been inclined to dream of just moments before. Either way, both settings where inapropriate.

"Mmm... Me and Katniss are fine, pumpkin; in fact, we were having a little _too_ much fun as it is." He said a bit darkly, feeling incredibly stupid and ashamed of himself for his (almost) actions.

He almost kissed Katniss! Not that he was planning on it, but his body was  following that trajectory when Prim called. He would’ve kissed a Pixie, if his daughter hadn't yanked him out of the moment. Suddenly, he had forgiven Rye for the obnoxious ringtone... the polka helped... greatly! Prime cock-blocking material! He had to remember to give his brother a hug or something.

Peeta shook his head off the crazy thoughts, and went back to his phone call, "Look Prim, why don’t I let you say hi to Katniss, so she can tell you we are cool, and then you can tell her what it is you want for dinner, and we will bring it... sound okay to you?" he asked, looking at Katniss for the first time since the call started.

She didn't seem to have realized how close he had been to royally messing things up with them, and once again, he was grateful for her purity of heart... pixies never felt that kind of stuff humans had to endure, like attraction and heartbreak, anyway.

Katniss and Prim talked and giggled for a bit longer, and then he heard her saying her goodbyes, and promising some sweet and sour chicken and shrimp lo mein. Terrible combination in his opinion, but Prim's mother had loved it too, so... cursed be the genes!

The Eye took about thirty minutes to go all the way around, and even then, they were told they could go on once more if they so wished to; the line of people waiting to get on, was thinning out now, but after the close call at the very top of the observation wheel, Peeta was eager to return home to Effie's flat, so he gratefully declined, and left the attraction.

He didn't try to hold Katniss' hand or offer her any closeness either. He was aware of the quizzical looks she was shooting his way. She was a smart pixie; she had probably guessed something had happened at the top of that ferris wheel; he was just glad she seemed to have no idea what, or why he had suddenly become so distant, but it was better that way. Keeping the object of his inappropriate urges at arm's length, was the solution.

He did redouble his attempts at remaining cordial, and upheld an easy conversation to the Chinese restaurant, and from there to the flat, but he knew it was an uphill battle he had started to fight.

He knew this ill advised attraction was only the beginning of an ongoing internal conflict for him. He already knew how it was going to end too, because Katniss was a pixie, and pixies didn't fall in love (he was sure of it), and there was also his engagement to Clove back home. The fiancée he was going to see in two days time.

Peeta groaned inwardly, when Katniss caught him staring at her for the umpteenth time in the elevator to Effie's, and gave him that shy, little smile of hers, the one that showed the slight blush in her cheeks so prettily... he was doomed!

But there was a silver lining in his dark future, he only had to avoid any proximity to Katniss for the next two days, and he'd be fine! Only two more days, and he'll be back at Clove's side, his time consuming job, and all the business of moving to another state.

By then, his crazy crush on Katniss would have no other option but to fade! He'd be fine! He was confident about it.

He left the elevator with renewed energy, and a spring in his step. He even gave Katniss a little pat in the shoulder. His desire to kiss Katniss would be gone and done in two days! He had nothing to feel weird or anxious about, it was a ridiculous momentary common sense lapse.

Nothing but a fleeting impulse. He could keep it at bay all on his own until it wasn't even a memory, right? _Right?_

But sometimes the best laid plans, seemed to have been doomed from the beginning... Peeta just did not yet know that his was one such plan...

He was _fucked_ , now it was a matter of time for him to catch up with the that fact!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> London sites mentioned in this chapter:
> 
> the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It's served different purposes since it was built in 1078. It started as royal residence to the monarchy, but is also infamously known as a place for high ranked prisoners, a house of torture, and even the execution of a few royals. Now a days serves to house England's Crown Jewels, and I personally can't wait to go visit in the future!
> 
> The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It's a very touristy attraction, and Shellibug's experience, when she visited it served as inspiration for this chapter... Thank you once more Shellibug! The lines to get on are legendary though. 
> 
> Tower Bridge (built 1886–1894) is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London. It crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and has become an iconic site of the city. Originally, I had planned to include the Millenium Bridge in the sights P & K visited, but, the Tower Bridge seemed to be more feasible to include... Plus those pesky Death Eathers kind of damaged the Millenium Bridge in HBP, and I wasn't sure if the Muggle government got around to fix it yet... :)
> 
> Thames: is the river best known for flowing through the city of London, and the southern parts of England. I'm not completely versed in bodies of water across England, but I think the Thames is the biggest river in the country.
> 
> Trafalgar Square: located in central London, it's a public and touristic place. There are a number of commemorative statues and sculptures in the square, as well as different historical buildings and churches. The National Gallery sits there, no wonder Peeta likes to come to the square every time he's in England! 
> 
> There are many other touristic spots in London, that I would've LOVE to include in the story, but, time and length were constructing. I hope you enjoyed my feeble attempt at taking you to one of my favorite cities in Europe, I have yet to visit! 
> 
>  
> 
> Hey everyone, just letting you know that I will be taking a short "Holiday break" from this fic until January. The next part of the story will take place in the good ol' US of A, so I figured the break will serve just fine as a next phase kind of divide.
> 
> Thanks for reading, following, leaving Kudos and comments... Every word you leave for me is like a tiny Christmas present, and I love each and everyone of them! 
> 
> Just because I'm not gonna be working on this story, doesn't mean you have to stop reading great Everlark Fanfiction, please head over to tumblr, find the pages of winter in Panem or Yuletide in Panem for Christmassy/Winter fics featuring our beloved Hunger Games gang in different settings! It's gonna be great! 
> 
> Happy Everlarking to everyone! Have a great Season. Don't forget to comment below!


	6. Across the Pond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters belong to SC.
> 
> With great thanks to my always cheery lingo consultant "shellibug", you always make working on Pixie such a delight! 
> 
> Beautiful banner, by the most talented artist ever: "Loving_Mellark", her work is always amazing! 
> 
> This chapter might have a few grammatical errors... All mine... Sorry:)

 

"Next..." Droned the immigration officer dispassionately, from her little plexiglass enclosed cubicle behind the welcoming yellow line. She simply looked bored to tears perched on her chair, resembling a squashed frog.

 

Rye made a face at her grating voice, fishing around his bag for his documentation.

  
"Ryemond Mellark Junior," Her voice monotonous, reading aloud the name in the passport Rye had just presented to her, possibly for confirmation.

  
"Well, more like Ryemond Mellark _the One and Only,_ since my old man died ages ago!" Rye's attempt at a joke was met with a chilly stare from the immigration officer, who promptly asked her next question, not even moving a facial muscle.

  
"Mister Mellark, what countries did you visit during your time outside of the United States?"

  
"I went to have a spot of tea, at the old country?" He tried to make use of his almost perfect British accent, again, finding his audience less than receptive at his humorous antics.

  
"The name of the country will suffice mister Mellark," The woman said so flatly, it was a miracle her lips moved at all.

  
"England!" The man waiting his turn, right behind Rye, shouted in irritated impatience, taking an exaggerated look at his expensive watch.

  
"Sir, you are not allowed to answer for another passenger..."

  
"Come on, man! This whole family has taken up about 30 minutes each, since we arrived at the immigration lines!" The man groaned angrily. "I'm here on business, if I miss my meeting tomorrow morning, because of the incompetence of Homeland Security, I'm suing the State!"

  
"Sir, I'm sure you'll make your meeting tomorrow, if you stay quiet, and in compliance with my directions. Wait your turn behind the yellow line on the floor, please," The immigration officer said, still under the air of boredom, "Otherwise you will miss your meeting. If you keep interfering with another passager's interview, you may win yourself, a one way ticket, to an airport holding cell, courtesy of the Federal Government of the United States. You really don't wanna see Homeland Security up it's efficiency right now, do you?"

  
The man clamped up his mouth immediately, falling silent while his face and ears turned a violent shade of magenta. Surely he had more things to say, but no one wants to get in trouble with the federal government at an airport.

 

Rye had to stare at a different officer, one carrying a humongous gun in his holster, to just to keep himself from laughing after the scolding. It was a feat to keep a straight face, since the woman delivered the whole speech without and inflection in her flat voice, nor a movement in her facial features.

  
Soon enough, she turned her attention back to Rye, "Mister Mellark, is England the only place you visited during your stay overseas?"

  
"Yes ma'am." He answered promptly, not even smiling.

  
"And how long were you there?"

  
"Uh... little over a month?" He was doing math in his head. He wasn’t very good at it though... not without seeing the numbers on paper in front of him, which was not so great considering he ran a business... but then again, _he was a baker damn it, not an astrologer!_

 

He groaned inwardly, he just seemlesly incorporated a damned funny Star Trek joke into his head monologue, and it would go on unheard by any human ears, until the end of time! Life was so  cruel.

  
  
He wished he had paid attention to what the rest of his family answered during their turn, instead of spending his time, shamelessly checking out the many leggy flight attendants that bypassed the, regular passenger lines, every so often. He vaguely remembered Peeta saying he had spent eight weeks in England, since he had gone ahead of the family, when they heard of Auntie Mags rapidly deteriorating health; the rest of the family followed, when Mags finally ceased.

Not very cheery thoughts.

Rye smiled weakly at the unenthusiastic officer, and said more firmly, "Four weeks and two days," The sad date will forever be ingrained in his mind, just st like that of Ryemond Mellark Senior's death anniversary was.

  
The officer typed a long string of something in her computer, ignoring him completely, until she was done a minute later. She stamped his booklet and said, "Welcome home, mister Mellark. Have a good evening. Next!"

  
Rye had barely grabbed his passport from the counter, when Mr.-I'll-sue-you-for-no-good-reason, had practically shoved him out of the way.

  
"Geesh... could you be any ruder?" He muttered under his breath, glaring daggers at the man while blindly groping around his backpack, to place his passport back into its designated pocket. "Welcome to America! Where common courtesy is thrown out of the window, because you are un insufferable jackass!"

 

The rude man glared back, but stayed quiet all the same.

 

Rye slung his bag over his shoulder, not sparing the nasty man another glance, and sauntered to the far corner of the room, where the rest of his family was gathered. Katniss was missing.

  
"So... how excited are we to be back home?" He asked his family, sporting an annoying grin on his face.

  
Everyone was in different levels of grogginess and grumpiness after the nine and half hours that lasted their flight from London Heathrow to Atlanta-Georgia, first stop of their two leg trip back home to North Carolina. The group still had to catch a flight to Raleigh–Durham International Airport and then hop on a rental van, for the hour and a half long ride, to small town Panem.

  
"Ask me again, once I have my wife in my arms," Groaned Bill, letting his head fall back against the wall behind him.

  
"Will do!" Grinned Rye enthusiastically, with a mischievous wink. "So, where is our British contraband?" He asked craning his neck around the room scanning the open room, searching for the pixie, amongst the tired looking  crowd.

  
"She was sent into that room over there," Prim pointed her index finger at an office looking room, a small orange sign above the door. It was too far away to read what it said.

  
"What for?" He asked, all humor dropped from his voice.

  
"Not sure. She was in the Non-citizen line, so, we have no idea what's going on. I tried to go in there, but they told me I wasn't allowed to come inside with her," Said Peeta grumpily. There was concern in his eyes too.

  
"Ugh... it's probably nothing," Said Mrs. Mellark wrinkling her pert nose. "These, immigration people, will scrutinize your documentation for the most minor issue. I've lived in this country for ages, and they still find things to fuss about with my residency papers."

  
"That's because you’ve _lived, in this country for ages_ , and haven't made a move to get your citizenship, mother!" Said Bill in aggravation. "It'll be so easy for you... it wouldn’t even take you that long either!" He said cutting his mother and exasperated glare.  
  
"I am happy being an British subject, thank you very much."

  
"Whatever! You just don’t want to serve on jury duty, that's all." Grumbled Bill, through his teeth.

  
"Why would I? How is it fair, that I get penalized, potentially loosing entire weeks of my life, to jury duty, just because some idiot, decided to break the law? There's absolutely no justice in that! A person should be able to refuse such a thing..."

  
"It's an _honor_ , AND a duty to serve as juror!" Growled Bill waving his arms above his head, visibly ticked off.

  
"It is not!

  
"Ugh... P-lease!!! Will you two just... chill?" Cried out Rye. " _This,_ right here, is what's unfair with life! The two of you bickering over jury duty!" He motion between the two of them.

  
"No... what's unfair, is Mother's disregard for people's rights!" Snapped Bill, glaring at his mother.

  
"What about my rights? I'm an exemplary denizen!" Counter the woman, "Why I've never even gotten a traffic infraction,"

  
"WHAT???" Screeched Bill in disbelief, throwing his hands to the ceiling. "What do you call, the mountain of parking tickets, inside that side table drawer, back home?"

Prim was roaring with laughter at her family's bout of disagreements.  

  
"Oh pish-posh... those don't count. Why I wasn't behind the wheel, when the intransigent officer wrote those."

  
"Mother, those are serious infractions when they stack up like that," Peeta said with a heavy, tired sigh. "You could lose your license, you know,"

  
They were all talking above each other, their voices rising methodically as the argument heated up, until an security guard approached them, and asked them to put a lid on it, in no uncertain terms.

  
"Sorry officer... we are still waiting for somebo... Whoa! Katniss! Where did you come from?" Peeta made a little hop in surprise, when she set a delicate hand on his forearm, to get his attention.

 

He had already been flustered, as he spoke in behalf of his crazy family. He chuckled nervously, glancing back and forth between the guard and Katniss.

  
"Oh... Got here around ' _never gotten a traffic infraction_ '. I thought it would be impolite, to just cut in your discussion. So, I just stood here, with little Prim, while you grown ups hashed it out. Sorry I didn't announced my arrival." She smirked a little, earning everybody else's unamused glares. "Sorry," She repeated more contritely this time.

 

"Never mind that," Peeta breathed out, and turning to face the guard, "We'll just get on our way now... Sorry, sir. Thank you," He gave the guard an awkward smile, and motion everyone to shuffle away.

  
Everyone apologized to the officer, and gathered their stuff to go on, to their next stop: the Delta Air Lines recheck counter.

  
"So... what happened in the little room?" Asked Peeta trying as hard as he could to hide his anxiousness.

  
"Oh, the officer looking over my documentation, thought his fingerprint machine was faulty. It really was my fault. I forgot humans are supposed to have fingerprints," Katniss gave Peeta a sheepish grin, "So they gathered my things, and sent me to the waiting room, until someone else could, _interrogate_ me for a bit. They seemed satisfied with my answers at the end, and I remember to push out little ridges on my finger skin, and voila... fingerprints!" She wiggled her fingers in front of Peeta's face, making him laugh and shake his head ruefully.

  
"So, you're good, then! Here in America legally?" Asked Bill with a sideways glance, as the whole group trudge along.

  
"Yes. Here legally." She answered, and everyone breathed easier.

  
They had a three hour layover, before their flight to Raleigh–Durham, they were tired and very bored. Luckily for them, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was a terribly big place, with lots of people, constantly rushing from one side to the other, like a bunch of headless chickens; just getting to their next gate would consume a great chunk of their three hours, and they got to people-watch the whole time.

 

For Katniss, though, was very different. She had lost count of how many shoulders she had bumped into, on the last twenty minutes, as she dutifully followed the Mellarks, who traveled in single file, against the sea of people around them. She was overwhelmed, same way she had been at Heathrow in London, just this time, she was thousands of miles away from home.

  
"It's okay." Whispered Prim soothingly, taking a hold of Katniss' hand when she started to look green in the face. "Just hold on to me, and you'll be fine!" Prim's small voice was like balm to the pixie's frayed nerves.

  
"Thank you sweetheart!" She returned gratefully, running her fingers through the girl's hair.

  
"Everything okay?" Peeta asked when he realized Prim and Katniss lagged, a foot too far from the rest of the group.

  
"Yeah... Katniss is just a little nervous, that's all." Said Prim caressing Katniss' arm gently.

  
"It's okay to be nervous," Said Peeta looking right into her glassy eyes.

  
Katniss nodded meekly, and because he was being so nice and understanding, she pressed closer against him, curling her hand around his elbow. He felt familiar and safe to the Pixie, so she exhaled a deep breath.

  
Peeta, on the other hand, got startled by the motion. His spine stiffened at her sudden touch, but he didn't extract his arm from her grasp, not that he would even dream of it! In fact, he relaxed slowly, and pulled his arm closer to himself, until she was virtually hidden behind his stocky frame.

No one spared them a second glance. It felt like the most natural thing: Him protecting her with his body, cutting through the throng of people, while she held fast both to him, and the blonde girl trailing behind them. If the rest of the Mellarks had been more observant, they wouldn't had missed the domesticity or ease, in which the three of them moved, as unit.

  
After they recheck for their next flight, Peeta turned to Katniss, finally breaking their connection through their linked arms.  
  
"You hungry?" He asked re-adjusting the strap of his small duffle-bag over his shoulder.

"I could eat!" Chimed in Rye brightly.

"I wasn't asking you, you dumb-dumb," snapped his younger brother glaring mightily.

"Oh... Right. You we're asking the nervous wreck to your left," Rye eyed Katniss on the other side of Peeta, and snickered.

 

Katniss tried hard to stifle her giggles, succeeding for the most part. But, decided to answer the question, smiling broadly as well.

 

"Eating somewhere, on firm ground, with enough elbow room to relax, would be lovely, thank you!" Her eyes finally sparkled.

 

Rye jumped at the opportunity, with a great deal of enthusiasm, "I know just the perfect place to take you, for your first official American meal! Come on troop!"

 

He practically bounced with excitement, pulling out his cell phone. He set up to scroll around his virtual map of the Atlanta Airport, the place was so big and busy, it made sense someone had some way to navigate it.

 

In seconds, the group took a set of escalators down to a tunnel that funneled everyone to the airport train platform. They boarded and headed to the Domestic Terminal, both, because the 'special' American food was located at Concourse E, and also, because their connection to Raleigh- Durham, was departing from Concourse A, both located at the other side of the airport.

 

Remembering Katniss' excitement at riding the London tube, Peeta suggested they boarded the first cart of the train, and sat the Pixie and Prim, on one of the cart's only two benches, facing the giant window on the very front. To say Katniss was fascinated, would be an understatement!

 

The train ride was sweet and mercifully not that long; the flow of passengers in and out was suffocating at times, and although, they really could've just walked to Concourse E to eat, which was the very next concourse after the International Terminal they'd just left, it was decided (mostly by Mrs. Mellark), to go all the way to Concurse A, to look around for their gate, making sure everything was still on time for their connection home.

 

Traversing the place, was an adventure in on itself.

 

The group chatted, laughed and swapped comments about their trip in general; only Mrs. Mellark seemed annoyed by the group's constant interaction. Rye kept everyone in stitches, all the way to their first destination, at Gate A13.

 

A quick look at the screens above the desk of A13, showed that the gate was preparing to send off a flight to Newark, but after the New Jersey flight was gone, they would start to prepare for their North Carolina bound flight. The screen kept flashing the words ' **On Time** ', so content with their information, the Mellarks, plus their pixie, headed to E gates for some grub... Except for Mrs. Mellark, that was.

 

The matron chose to stay put at A13, and no amount of cajoling moved her from her waiting area chair. Bill had insisted she sat next to the 'recharge station'. He reasoned, that since she refused to come with them, she should at least, watch over their phones, tablets, and Rye's Nintendo DS, while they charged. As they walked away, Rye turned around, and smugly told his mother loudly, to have fun, while the rest of them stretched their legs, and found some good ol' fashion junk food to delight their taste buds.

 

They indeed, ended right in front of an unassuming set of Golden Arches, where a smiling clown greeted them back home: to the land of obesity, heart conditions and a generous choice to super sized fries on the side!

 

"Mmm, mmm, mmmmm... Good old Mickey D's!" Said Rye licking his chops with delight, rubbing his hands together. He giddily stepped into the mile-long line, that coiled twice around itself, "Nothing screams welcome to America, like a greasy Quarter Pounder with cheese! Come now your highness, this one's on me!" He beamed at Katniss, who looked a bit disconcerted.

 

"I've see this restaurant before," she told him, looking up at the huge McDonald's sign above the counters. "They have them back in London," she said eying the long queue waiting to order.

 

"Yes, that might be the case, but you don't go to McDonald's overseas, unless your stomach is sick of the local food!" Rye countered indignantly. "What's the fun on going to a different country, if you don't try their flavors, what kind of tourist are you, if you don't gamble with a little food poisoning in your travels? That's just not right! No. You're only allowed American franchise stuff, when you miss home, or nothing stays down." Both Peeta and Bill laughed out loud, agreeing with Rye's self righteous response, saying something like "'it's the Mellark way!" or something similar.

 

It was funny enough to make Katniss crack a smile and fall into step, next to the Mellarks. Even Prim seemed excited about the fare before her, talking animatedly about some Happy Meal she was looking to order. Katniss absently remembered once, hearing Widow Paylor, back home, say something to the effect of ' _While in Rome, do what romans do_ ', so she simply followed the lead of her legion.

 

The queue moved quite fast, which as ironic as it was for a fast food restaurant, surprised the brothers. They were at a register ordering, and customizing their sandwiches and burgers in no time. Peeta ordered for Katniss as well as for Prim, and the pixie thought he had gone overboard with all she heard him choose from the menu.

 

They only waited a few minutes for the insanely exaggerated amount of bags filled with food the brother's got. They all juggled large drinks, pressed between their finger tips and their chins or lips, while navigating their way through the packed sitting area. Katniss was amazed at how they could hold on to their paper bags of greasy food, like they were invaluable prizes.

  
  
Prim had been charged with the location and securing of a table big enough to hold all of them, while Katniss had to collect napkins, straws and baggies of condiments. She witnessed with amusement, the hilarious act of the brothers tossing packets of ketchup and other condiments to one another.

 

Bill discovered his apple pie was missing, so was Rye's junior double cheeseburger, which he had asked for like ten times, and the cashier kept saying it was already tabulated in the order.

 

"Fiber!" Rye muttered darkly.

  
The meal went on, with all talking at the same time obnouxiously,  making the people around them turn their attention to their table, and shake their heads rolling their eyes. It was like being in a hen house, where all the hens were male, and all were extremely good looking.

 

Katniss wasn't wrong in her assumption. Peeta bought enough food to feed the entire pixie colony in Devon, plus his own household. He looked at her sheepishly, after spreading all the little wrapped items in front of her.

 

"I wasn't sure what you'd like, since you've never had McDonald's before. I figured I'd get a bit of everything, then you could decide what you're partial for?" He offered shyly.

 

She thought the gesture was possibly the sweetest thing, anyone had ever done for her, and she discovered she was famished. Being human worked up an appetite in her lithe thin body. So she picked a yellow papered item and asked,

 

"Which one is this?"

 

"Chicken sandwich. It was my dad's favorite," He said quietly.

  
Katniss unwrapped her sandwiched and sank her teeth into it. "It's good!" She exclaimed around a mouth full, causing Peeta to smile broadly at her.

  
"Good!" He said triumphantly, taking a generous bite of his own burger, "Eat! There's more!"

 

 

* * *

 

"Fun!"

  
"In other words, Amusing,"

  
"In other words, Entertaining,"

  
"In other words, Merry!"

  
"Oh that's a good one..." Chuckled Katniss lightly, "Let's see... in other words... Jolly?" She rose one eyebrow at Primrose in question.

  
"No..." The girl said pensively, "That's more like Happy. But we can switch the word to Happy and then you can use Jolly!"

  
"We could, but that would defeat the purpose of the game!" Reasoned Katniss, "We are supposed to exhaust all synonyms, before we can move on to other words."

  
"True, but I think we got pretty much every synonym to Fun, don't you think?"

  
Katniss gave Prim a dubious stare, but let it drop all the same, since the ding above their heads rang announcing the flight attendant would be speaking on the intercom shortly.

 

They were on final approach to Raleigh-Durham airport, and although Katniss had found the flying in the tin tube quite the experience, she couldn’t help but to feel relieved that soon, she'd be able to stand on firm ground again.

  
"You alright there?" Asked Prim peering at her seat mate.

  
"Shouldn’t I be the one asking that question?" Responded the pixie with a sideways smile.

  
Prim shrugged.

  
"It's alright. I don’t get scared of planes much, unless there's a really bad turbulence, but since you are here, and you're magic, AND you can fly on your own... I'm pretty cool beans!" Prim gave Katniss that big, disarming smile, she had inherited from Peeta. Katniss felt her heart thrilled and her insides warmed up.

  
She was confused by the sensation, of how her mind associated the feeling in her chest to the smile of the man, she turned her head to look at Peeta who sat on the opposite window, across the aisle; she was only mildly surprised to have found him staring at her... or them, rather, since he flitted his blue eyes to Prim right away. Katniss felt her cheeks warm up uncomfortably for some reason, and lowered her sight to the her multicolor striped socks... A gift from Prim, who wore matching ones.

  
Mechanically, she followed Prim's lead, gathering their belongings, stowing everything back under the seat, and righting their chairs in preparations for landing. Katniss had never felt as confused in her life. She had started to suspect that her proximity  to the Mellarks, was to blame for her strange behavior. It disconcerted her greatly. But she had no time to think about it, for the plane touched ground, and finally came to a stop in front of the building.

  
Everyone inside the airplane shuffled their way slowly towards the door, the crew bid everybody farewell as they disembarked. The walking was halting and tedious, and for some reason Mrs. Mellark was the only one that didn't look sour at all while deplaning. The woman, was also confusing to the pixie at times.

  
Katniss stuck closely to Peeta and Prim once more, not letting eitherof them out of her grip as she pushed through the narrow aisle. When they finally reached open space again, they all took a deep breath of relief in unison. But they didn't have a chance to relax, it seemed nothing was ever smooth sailings for them.

  
A paunchy, middle aged man, with greasy, unkept, dark hair and blood shot, tired gray eyes, approached them.

  
  
"Evening everyone. My name is Haymitch Abernathy, and I'm here to welcome Miss Katniss Everdeen to America, on behalf of the Magical-Human Liaison or whatever their calling it nowadays," He deadpan, sparing a small glance to the group, "You'll have to excuse my appearance and my lack of enthusiasm, but I haven't slept in about twenty five years, since I drew the short straw, and was saddled with this gig,"

  
Of course, all three of the Mellark boys stood in front of Katniss, creating a protective wall, between her and that Haymitch character. They couldn't very well ignore a guy that addressed the Pixie Princess, as if he knew who she was, and claimed to be with a secret organization, when he looked more like had just crawled from inside a dirty vent duct... For all they knew, this man could be a troll or something more sinister.

  
"Mister Abernathy?" Katniss asked incredulously, hopping up and down trying to poke her head around Peeta, Rye, and Bill's shoulders. She looked down at the neatly folded paper in her hands, that had all the information given to her by Wiress back in London.

 

A _Mr. H. Abernathy,_ was listed as her Guardian, during her visit to America. It had to be him, since she was supposed to make contact with her handler once in North Carolina.

  
"Yeah, one and the same... just, I rather you call me Haymitch if you don't mind Sweetheart. Mister Abernathy makes me feel... old and stuffy,"

  
"Very well. My apologies, mister Haymitch..." Katniss started politely, before being interrupted.

  
"No, no. Just Haymitch, if you please,"

  
"Well, if it was as _I_ pleased, I'd be calling you _mister Abernathy_ , but I won't be doing that, since you asked so... _nicely_ ," She tossed back dryly from behind her bodyguards. "Also, _I_ am _not_ comfortable with anyone calling me Sweetheart!" The petulance dripped from her tone like, rain drops.

  
Rye couldn’t help the quiet chuckled, turning his head slightly, to catch her reflection with the corner of his eye. The motion was not lost on Peeta, neither he missed the way he felt acid creep up his throat, but he forced himself to get a grip and stop his irrational reaction; Haymitch's responding guffaw helped him greatly, as he had to concentrate on the crazy looking man before him.

  
"You know what, Sweetheart? I like that you’ve got spunk! Must of your kind ain't as charmin',"

  
Katniss couldn't help, to feel that the word 'charming', had been more of a covert insult, than a compliment. She held unto Peeta's broad shoulders to steady herself, as she stood on tip-toes to seize the weird, rude mannered man. 

  
"Is there a type of credential, or I.D card we can use to verify, you are who you claim to be?" Asked Bill wearily, scrutinizing the man before him steadily.

  
"Of course I do have 'em, sport. What do you take me for?" Haymitch snapped, fishing in his pocket for his wallet. He finally produced a badge, accrediting him as Magical Creature Guardian, from the Federal Supernatural Division of the United Stated of America.

  
After studying the badge for a long minute, Bill passed the I.D along to Rye, who besides looking at it, bent it, twisted it and bit down on it, just to make sure it was real, Rye in turn, passed it to Peeta, who held the hologram seal up to the light, and shifted it to and from, reading his name and badge number out loud, before finally allowing Katniss to take a look at it as well.

  
"Alright. I'm not sure how to test this thing without magic, to verify its authenticity. So, I will go with my companions approval of your provided documentation..."

  
"Yeah, whatever Sweetheart," interrupted Haymitch again, with a gruff sigh. "I am the one who has to follow you around, protecting for unseen dangers, that might never come, you while you're in American soil, so the joke's on me.

 

"Now if you so kindly, come here, so you can sign these forms, saying that you received your copy of the Rule Book, and that we have agreed to our first meeting... to be held, the day after tomorrow, at  Mellark's Bakery, on Main Street South, Panem, North Carolina," the man mumbled pulling a ream of paper and a folder out of a dilapidated briefcase sitting at his feet.

 

"The faster you sign, the sooner we can all go on our merry way," HAymitch rasped, clearing his throat, as he motioned the stack of papers towards Katniss.

  
The brothers stepped aside, still lingering close to Katniss just in case, watching Haymitch like three hungry dingos. Mrs. Mellark snorted derisively, reminding everyone she was still with them. Katniss approached the man cautiously, turning to send her protectors a calming smile. After signing the forms, Haymitch retrieved from his briefcase, a fat, navy blue book, the golden lettered inscription on  the cover read, 'Children Stories and Fables, Tome 1, Rules to Live By'.

 

The pixie accepted the book, heaving a sigh. Her smal, delicate hand caressed the top of the of the book, and gave it a flick. The pages were crisp, and beautifully decorated, with paintings of flowers, and children, and magical creatures...  Katniss took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of ink and paper into her lungs, and a small smile colored her lips.

 

"Finally! I knew bringing that flying moth here was more trouble than we'd anticipated," muttered Mrs. Mellark under her breath, causing the rest of her family to glare at her. She shrugged impatiently.

  
"Okay then," Said Haymitch straightening the wad of papers in his hand and subsequently shoving them into his briefcase. "So, Your _Highness_ , your homework for until we meet in two days time, is to read on this here book, and if you have any questions I'll try and answer them to ya. Also, if your family," He made a wide gesture with his open arm signaling the Mellarks, "Feel inclined to read it, the better.

 

"They also need to be informed, about the do's and don'ts, of this whole caring-for-a-magic-creature business. Living with humans tends to be tricky, and you don't wanna cause an imbalance with your powers, capisce?"

 

At her confused expression, Haymitch rubbed his face with one hand roughly, and amended, "Are we clear?" He gave them all a hard stare, that finally let them know with the shadow of a doubt, that he was indeed a Guardian. Everyone nodded.

  
"Good! Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to catch up with my friend Jack Daniels. Been waiting to join 'im all evening. Mellarks, Sweetheart," He made a tip-of-his-hat motion, and left in a hurry.

  
"Well. That was... strange," Said Rye looking at the retreating form of the Guardian down the hall, "Interesting, but definitely strange."

 

"Who's Jack Daniels?" Asked Prim looking at her Daddy with a quizzical expression on her face.

 

"Um... Nobody you need to know about, sweetie. Let's get going," Peeta took his daughter's hand in his, marched on, to baggage claim.

 

Rye sidled next Bill, and gave him a wide, mischievous grin, "Dude, that stunt with the I.D checking was so bad ass! I almost believed, you knew what the hell, you were doing! I wonder, you we woulda  looked stupid, if the guy hadn't been legit, and he was so kind of Pixie strangler?" 

 

"Rye... Shut, the fuck, up..." His big brother sighed a plea, picking up his pace, suddenly stopping and dropping his voice to add urgently, "And, don't let Katniss know we had not clue, of what we were doing back there. She looks up to us... We have to watch over her, like a little sister,"

 

"Ha... Tell Peeta that. He'd probably get offended, if we hint we know, about his incestous urges, with our _new sis_!" Rye cackled, while Bill took a deep breath and shook his head in defeat.

  
"Will you two hurry up? with the company you kids are keeping?" Called Mrs. Mellark back at her two eldest sons, impatience thick in her voice. "Poor Lavinia must be wondering what's holding us up, it'll be a miracle if the poor thing hasn't gone home without us by now!"

  
At the mention of the name 'Lavinia', Bill perked up, and all but rushed ahead of the crowd leaving the rest of his party behind. Katniss smiled at Bill's happy countenance, he seldom looked that happy, always having to be the straight man of the group, and the perpetual voice of reason.

  
Soon they were in the baggage claim area, waiting for their respective bags, when a medium height, red headed woman, with skin as pale and smooth as porcelain, preceded by a protruding belly that looked about ready to pop, rushed to the rowdy group. The woman crashed against Bill's open arms, and in an instant, their lips were connected in an intense kiss. 

 

Katniss smiled, and for unexplainable reasons, her eyes found Peeta's. When she did, she quickly averted her gaze, suddenly feeling shy, and embarrassed. She felt her cheeks warm up again. The sensations were so disconcerting!

  
"Wow, if that's how a wife greets a husband after a long separation, then, wed me off... to the first available chick!" Shouted Rye, wolf-whistling and laughing boisterously. 

  
The red head separated from her husband, and slapped Rye playfully on the arm, then proceeded to move her hands in rapid succession, in an avalanche of hand gestures. Rye, and the other Mellark boys laughed heartily in response, then, Rye started to move his own hands in response, while talking a mile a minute.

 

After laughing at Rye's crude remarks and smacking him on the arm once more, Lavinia turned her attention to Peeta. The hand motioning returned, and Katniss noticed the woman's lips formed silent words, as she moved her fingers and hands in precise gestures. Peeta smiled sweetly at his sister-in-law, and although he spoke normally in return, he also motioned back accentuating his response.

  
Katniss found the exchanged odd, but also very interesting. She had never seen people do such a thing, and was curious as to exactly she seeing. After Prim had hugged and greeted her aunt, gesturing as well, Katniss took a closer step to the girl, and quietly asked into her ear,

  
"Primrose, darling, what are those _peculiar_ , hand gestures, everyone seems to be doing? And, why would they seem, to only employ such a thing, while interacting with the pretty lady?"

  
"Oh," Prim turned to Katniss, as if she had momentarily forgotten she was there, "I guess you've never seen Sign Language," She stated, twisting her lips sideways. "People use it, when they can't speak with their own mouths and vocal cords, like Auntie Vinia. That's how we talk with her, since she's mute," Prim looked back at her family, still signing to Lavinia enthusiastically. "She can hear us fine, but... she can't use her tongue to talk,"

  
"And, you all know, how to communicate with her, through the signals?" Asked Katniss watching the adults' interactions with interest, following each gesture, every flick of a hand, or curve of a finger, carefully cataloguing the motion, and storing it, in her ever growing 'knowledge of human behavior' mind compartment.

  
"I guess so. Even Clove knows a few words. I'm sure we can teach you, so you can say hello to Aunt Vinia!" Said Prim smiling wide.

 

"I would love that," The pixie said softly, returning her gaze and a loving smile at her friend, smoothing down the fine blonde hair coming undone from youngster's twin braids.

 

"You already know how to wave hello, that's an universal gesture!" Said Prim beaming like the sun. "And your a very fast learner, Daddy said so once, it won't take any time to teach you the rest. You'll see! Come on... Let's go say hi, to auntie Vinia!"

  
Prim pulled a chuckling Katniss, to the center of the group, and motioned to her aunt, to introduced them to each other. Prim flawlessly delivered the cover story they had agreed upon, back in Englad, about Katniss' origins: an old family friend, staying with them for a bit while learning about fashion in New York City. Of course, Lavinia already knew all about Katniss, or at least, the sanitized version, Bill had told her via email, weeks ago, right after he found out the Princess of the Pixies was coming to America with them.

  
Lavinia waved politely, and Katniss did the same shyly. Keeping in mind the fact that Lavinia was mute, but not deaf, the pixie chance a verbal greeting, 

 

"It is a proper pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Mellark, your husband..." She paused and smiled at all the Mellarks, they seemed surprised she had addressed Lavinia as _Mrs. Mellark_ , probably they only asociated the name to their mother, but Lavinia was a Mrs Mellark as well, "Your whole family, actually, has spoken very kindly, and fondly of you,"

 

In that moment, Lavinia's baby kicked the hardest she had ever felt it from inside her belly, causing her to stagger in discomfort. Her hand flying to cover the section where the little foot was digging insistently, causing mild pain to the mother-to-be.

  
Katniss' eyes widened, sensing the unborn child calling to her. Slowly, the pixie bended at the waist, lowering her eyes to Lavinia's expanded stomach. She cocked her head sideways, as if to hear better, an a soft smile formed slowly on her lips, until it had grown wide and happy. Her face was level with Lavinia's belly, and suddenly she whispered a few words, no one caught, but the effect on the child was immediate.

 

Strong kick, turn, strong fist, wiggle, and excited dancing.

  
Katniss chuckled softly, "Now calm down, sweetie. You'll give your mum a fright, I will be here when you arrive, Pixie's word!" She lifted the three middle fingers of her left hand, while her pinky and thumb touched in the middle of her palm. The baby stilled right away, and burrowed lower into it's mother's abdomen.

  
Lavinia looked frightened indeed, a hand clutching her stomach, while the other gripped her husband's upper body like a vine. The rest of the Mellarks stared at the pixie, sporting different emotions frozen on their surprised faces. Only then, Katniss grew self conscious of what had just happened.

  
"What the hell was that?" Asked Bill in a harsh whisper.

  
"I'm sorry," Apologized Katniss right away, although she wasn't entirely sure, what had she done wrong.

  
"No... What the freaking hell just happened?" He asked again, this time sternly in accusatory tone.

  
"I... um... the child, he heard me, so he asked who I was, and I told him, then he asked me if I was here for him..."

  
"Him?" Interrupted Bill, "It's a _Him_?" His eyes going big and cautiously excited.

  
"Oh... well, yes." Katniss said slowly, looking at an alarmed Lavinia who's mouth gaped at her in near horror, "It's a boy, if that's what you're asking..."

 

"Wow... In all the sonograms and ultrasounds, the doctors hadn't  been able to tell..." Bill breathed out slowly, "And you just... What? Spoke to him?" His question slightly dazed.

 

"Well... Yes, but what's important is that he's a healthy, happy, self aware little baby, and he recognizes a few voices, such as yourself and his mum of course, and he..."

  
"Okay. Alright. Stop right there," Demanded Bill raising his hand abruptly, "This is too weird..." He snapped shaking his head in denial, while tightening his arm around his shaking wife.

  
"Bill, don’t be like that, now," intervened Rye, "I'm sure Katniss didn't do anything maliciously," He tried to reason with his brother, but his eyes still regarded Katniss strangely. "She's just trying to help, _looking up to you,_ and all that jazz, remember?" He finished quietly.

  
"Well, that may be, but... No, you can't just... start talking to my unborn son, like that..." Bill said directly to Katniss, his voice loosing most of his accusation, but still stern. "It's really, just too weird,"

 

Katniss slumped her shoulders dejectedly, her downcast eyes brimming with tears. She still wasn't sure what had she done so bad, to upset Bill and Lavinia so much; she was ashamed, and sad, and full of... _Remorse_ , an emotion she had never experienced before, but she absolutely abhorred feeling... It was the first time she felt something on her own, that wasn't related to Peeta, and the fact that the emotion made her feel so yucky inside, lead to worse and worse feelings, she just wasn't equipped to comprehend or deal with.

  
"Okay, that's enough Billy," Peeta interjected fiercely. He had seen how Katniss slowly curled behind Prim, sniffling quietly and dabbing lightly at her watery eyes with her fingertips, and he hated the sight so much, he felt his anger rise, "Just because _we,_ don't understand what just happened between Katniss and the baby, doesn't mean you get to treat her so nastily. We don't know, what all she can do, but we need to learn how to manage, our reactions to her abilities, when we encounter a new one,"

 

Prim shot a reproachfull stare at her uncle, while embracing her friend tightly. Katniss was hers, and she resented anyone making her sad.

  
"Peeta, it's just too crazy!" Snapped Bill.

 

"And still, doesn't  justify you being a dick!" He lashed back.

  
"What's too crazy?"

  
Everybody froze at the sharp female voice, coming from behind them.

 

A tall, athletic, elegantly dressed brunette, clad in designer's clothing, and expensive looking ridding boots, stood just a few feet away from the family of blondes. Katniss anguished self pity forgotten, was quickly replaced by curiosity. The newcomer had straight, dark brown hair, that fell around her shoulders, under a knitted burgundy hat, that made her amber colored eyes pop. Her face was tastefully made up, with a hint of rouge on the apple of her cheeks, smoky eye shadow, and flesh colored lipgloss.

 

The pixie couldn't help, to think, that the woman would certainly look very lovely, if only she'd smiled a bit, but, alas, the woman remained serious, regarding the group before her, with searching eyes.

  
"Clove!" Exclaimed Peeta in a rush, leaping rapidly to wrap the woman in a tight, one arm hug.

  
' _The fiancee..._ ' the word flooded Katniss' mind unbidden.

 

Clove was almost a head taller than Katniss, and for the looks of it, curvier, and possibly more muscular even. Her thing oval shaped face, had very pretty features, with lustrous and polished skin, maybe two shades lighter than Katniss' human hue, but there was a hardness in the depth of her eyes, that made her seem a bit... distant. Sharp.

  
Unlike Bill and Lavinia, the engaged couple didn't kiss passionately, nor did they show any other affectionate gestures, beyond the hurried embrace he had given her, and small peck on the cheek from her to him.

  
"So, what's crazy?" She asked again, clearly not deterred.

  
"Nothing, future sis, nothing worth rehashing," said Rye, placing an arm around Clove's shoulders, giving her a quick hug as well. Again, his greeting less exuberant than it had been with Lavinia. "Just Bill, being an dick..." He threw his older brother a glare. "How are you? How's life in the Big Apple?" He asked brightly.

  
"Alright. Suit yourselves," She shrugged, dismissing the entire thing, "Things are good with me," without saying hello to anyone else, Clove turned to Peeta, and asked, ignoring everybody else, "So, are you gonna come home with me tonight, or would you rather meet tomorrow for dinner?" Her tone so short and dry, no one would ever think she was talking to her future husband, who she hadn't seen in almost two months.

  
"Uh... I guess we can go have dinner together tomorrow night," Peeta winced, adjusting the strap of his duffle on his shoulder. "I'm a bit jet lagged from the trip right now, the and Prim really needs to go home," Clove tilted her head to the side, as if suddenly remembering Peeta had a child, cutting her eyes to the girl, who simply gave her a contemptuous glance, before tightening her hold on Katniss'. Peeta continued spilling excuses, as to _why_ , he couldn't go home with his fiancée, oblivious to the females reactions to one another.

 

He finally said something that made Clove reel back, and pay closer attention to his rambling, "Plus, I can't very well leave Katniss alone, to figure out the house on her own..."

  
"Who's Katniss?" Clove asked brusquely, scanning her fiancé's face for an explanation.

  
"Uh... Katniss is, my... uh... she's..."

  
"Katniss is and old family friend, dear." Every eye cut to the left abruptly, in stunned surprise, "Her...  _family_ , was very dear, to our beloved aunt Mags, back in Devon. Katniss in particularly, had a, rather close friendship with my sons, growing up. So when she mentioned, she was coming to New York City, to look at some fashion schools and that sort of thing, well... it was only natural, we offered her lodging and boarding, in exchange for her accompanying my granddaughter, on her free time, while Peeta works in the new bakery," The Mellark matriarch, smiled pleasantly at Katniss, further deepening the disbelief in her children's astonished faces, "It truly was a godsend, this trip of dear Katniss; I feel so much at ease knowing my darling Primrose, won't be alone, in that big city."

 

The last words came out sincere and true. Katniss mouthed the words 'Thank you' nodding gratefully at the woman. Once again, a Mellark made her feel an emotion with mirroring it of someone else. _Gratitude._

  
Everyone was shocked into silence, listening to none other than distant, antagonistic, Mrs. Mellark, running with the explanation of Katniss' official story for visiting the U.S. flawlessly. The old hag looked to Clove with her chin up; haughty as ever, delivering every line with surety and dignified pride, in her high and mighty tone, looking to her daughter-in-law to-be, in that covertly superior way, she did everyone else, the lie would never be doubted.

  
"Uh... what mom said," Peeta mumbled an agree, still perplexed.

  
"Thanks mom. That was... eloquent," Added Rye looking at his mother quizzically.

  
"In that case, nice to meet you... um, Katniss, is it?" Clove asked, as if she hadn't just heard the name, being spoken at least five times already. When she offered her hand to Katniss to shake, she only grasped her with two fingers and a thumb, before letting the pixie's hand fall like it was lead.

  
Her cold reception, didn't prevent Clove, to give Katniss an once over, before pulling Peeta away from the group, almost ripping his shirt sleeve from his arm. A second later she was making wild, angry hand gestures, that Katniss doubted were the good kind, used to communicate with Lavinia.

 

A thought rushed to Katniss mind, _'How many other differences are there, between Clove and Lavinia?',_ she wondered carefully watching the two women. 

  
Katniss was jerked back, out of her musings, when Mrs. Mellark asked harsly in the background,

  
"What?"

  
"Nothing. Just... surprised at you, that’s all," Said Rye in a serious tone of voice, turning his eyes away from his mother, bending to grab the handle of his roll-on suitcase, as well as Prim's.

  
"I'm a Mellark, you know!" His mother shot back. "I'm well versed in bullshittery, same as you boys are. I know how to talk myself out of tight spots, where do you think, you kids get the talent? I'll give a hint, boy: not your father, although he could sweet talk anyone into buying anything he sold, it wasn't him, you inherit your quick wit!" She hissed at her middle son, narrowing her eyes.

 

She gathered her own belongings, before adding offhandedly, "Plus, I hate that Clove woman, even more than I can't stand the Pixie, you should know these things by now, Ryemond." And with that last, bitting statement,  the Mellark clan left the airport.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably, by far, the longest chapter I've written in this universe. I do apologize for not warning you earlier. 
> 
> So, we finally made it to the great U.S of A! I'm gonna miss Devon an it's breathtaking beauty, the menhirs and wild ponies frolicking in the green and gold moors! I'll simply have to google up more pics I guess and keep dreaming with trips to England! *sigh* 
> 
> But all things must come to and end, or at least move from one location to the next, so our Pixie and friends, made it safely to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson international airport, where, you may or may not have noticed, I seem to know quite well... If it does, it's cause I spend an insanely amount of time going through it. I live in Georgia. ATL is possibly the biggest employer in the state of Georgia; everyone living here, either works for, or is related to, or at least knows of someone who works at the airport, or for Delta Air Lines, it's no different with me :) 
> 
> That said, believe it or not there are only a couple of McDonalds at the airport. K and the Mellarks had to go from the international terminal that serves Concourse F, back to the domestic terminal, servicing the Concurses T, A,B,C,D, and E. The best way to do this is by taking the "Plane Train", although the there are very nice walking belts you could use instead. Going on foot from one end to the other, it's about 2 miles. Umma shut up about ATL now. :)
> 
> Sorry for the mostly filler chapter, I know we got to meet three new, very important characters, but still I recognize this was mostly a filler chapter, no way around it... It had to be done so we could finally jump into the meaty parts of the story, and I have to warn you, that I will probably up the rating to M starting with Chapter 7, so, be ready! 
> 
> Thanks for reading, please leave me a comment below!
> 
> Happy Valentine's Y'all! Be warm. Be safe!


	7. Mating Habits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big huge thanks to:
> 
> Shellibug, for lending me her proper English expertise, plus, always making very pertinent observations to plot and development of this story. I hope you know you, how much I value your opinion and your questions!
> 
> Beautiful banner, by the always gifted loving_mellark, who never disappoints! 
> 
> **WARNING:** this work's rating has been upped to **Mature** , due to adult content, particular to this chapter. Also, fair warning, the adult action will be between the male protagonist and a different woman, for all of you who have a hard time reading non Everlark smut. I promise this will be the last time I will explicitly write a sex scene of this type, for this story. If you rather skip it, then do so from the moment Katniss goes to the kitchen looking for a drink, until the moment she's making breakfast. 
> 
> You can leave your comments, questions and reviews at the end.

 

 

 

" ~~~~This movie is preposterous!" Katniss raged, waving the case of Prim's copy of Tinkerbell, right in Peeta's startled face.

  
"What the Fuck are you talking about?" He asked perplexed, finally yanking the offending object out of Katniss' hand.

Looking down at the smiling blond fairy on the cover, he quickly tore open the case, to find a DVD labeled 'Tinkerbell' right inside. He stared at the DVD in confusion. He was certainly happy it was not a mixed up of disks inside the case, because it was always a possibility to have put an R rated movie in the case by mistake... he did own a couple of movies he wouldn't necessarily want Prim watching.

"What... I seriously do not understand Katniss," He said at a loss for words.

  
"I demand this... abomination is taken away from my charge!" She brusquely commanded, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, and stomping her slippered foot with as much force as she could muster, her wings that had been flapping violently when she stomped into his office, nearly throwing him off his raggedy office chair, now simply idled in place folded downwards.

  
"O... kay. Now why would I take this movie from Prim's collection?" He asked cautiously, watching her wearily.

  
They had been at his small house in Panem, North Carolina for only one full day. Everything had gone smooth and easy, up until that point. He had not the faintest idea why watching Tinkerbell would make the pixie fly of the handle like that. In fact he had agreed with Prim, that watching a movie about Pixie Hollow would make their Pixie guest feel welcomed and at home.  
"It's offensive!"

  
"Um... may I ask how, exactly is Tinkerbell offensive?" Peeta asked in the same cautious tone, lowering his head to gauge her from her level.

  
"Well..." She was so worked up, she had trouble telling him what the problem was. Until finally, she spilled. "The film likens fairies and pixies as the same creature, which we are not, obviously!"

  
"Obviously," Agreed Peeta cautiously.

  
"Then they proceed to fill innocent children's minds with all this misconceptions about pixie dust, which by the way is just some rubbish idea they made up, since there is no such thing as pixie dust..."

  
"So you can't make me fly?" Asked Prim shyly from outside the door to Peeta's office, she slowly poked her head around the frame, looking sheepish for eavesdropping.

  
Katniss, turning to the girl, closed the distance between them and kneeled right in front of her, smiling reassuringly, "Not with pixie dust, I can't. But don't you ever fret, my pet, I still have many tricks under my fingers to make you fly!"

  
"Alright!" Peeta stood from his desk chair abruptly, a small frown of concern covering his brow, "I'd rather everyone born without wings, stays firmly on the ground... it's safer that way."

  
"Daddy... do you have to be so overprotective all the time?" Prim rolled her eyes, trying to hide the reluctant smile that colored her lips.

  
"Yes! It's my job." He declared coming to stand next to Katniss still kneeling in front of Prim, who held Katniss' hands in hers. Peeta leaned over to kiss his child's head, noticing the twin braids her hair was made into. "I like your hair. It's cute." He tugged lightly on a braid fondly.

  
"Thanks! Katniss did it for me!"

  
"Well, thank you Katniss, for making my baby girl look even more darling than she already is,"

  
"Daaaaaaad... stop. You're embarrassing me..."

  
Both Prim and Katniss blushed at Peeta's praise, although while her charge groaned her response to her father, the pixie stayed silent. But, for Peeta, the gratitude actually ran deeper than he could convey with Prim standing right there. Katniss felt the mix of repressed emotions Peeta was battling to keep hidden, one thing she could read clearly was that he wouldn't talk about it in front of the child, so she decided to file the questions simmering in her mind for after bedtime.

  
Bedtime! Katniss thought about it, and decided it was a good time as it'll ever be, to talk about her accommodations.

  
"Um, as inaccurate as that movie was, they had a couple of things right... the Thinker-chime..."

  
"Tinkerbell,"

  
"Whatever her name is, Primrose... the _Tinker_ - _bell_ thing, had a small hut where she lived. I- Um- I'm going to need a similar place for myself at some point. I can be human for a few days without changing back into my true form, but really the amount of magic it takes to keep the facade is draining, and I need proper lodgings to restore my magic health..."

  
"Ooh! I've seen little huts in like pet stores! They are made of hollow logs and the roofs are made of dry grass! You'll love them! Daddy and I can get you one tomorrow, right Daddy?" Prim looked from one person to the other, beaming with energy and bright ideas. Peeta couldn't say no to that, so he nodded.

  
"Of course we can."

  
"For tonight, I think I'm gonna make you a palace myself! Just wait here, until I'm done okay?" She practically yanked on Katniss' arms as she spoke a mile a second. Once Katniss' confused face had given her an accepting nod, Prim ran out of the room and to who-knew-where.

  
"She's a go-get-'em one, isn't she?" Katniss mumbled in awe.

  
"That she is... just like her mother."

  
Katniss was brought back into focus, by the rough dryness of Peeta's voice at the mention of Prim's mother. She had never asked anything about the woman, since she sensed it was a prickly topic for the whole family, but then it was clear to her that whatever emotions Peeta was feeling when he learned Prim got her braids from Katniss, were related to the absent woman somehow.

  
She debated whether to ask about it or hold her tongue, but her decision was made for her not a second later.

  
"Here in North Carolina, Prim seldom sees her mother, but once we move to New York... well, that's where Madge lives anyway."

  
"Madge?"

  
"Prim's mother." Peeta sighed as if bracing for an unpleasant conversation.

  
"We were seventeen and in high school when Prim was born. Madge had always been ambitious, with a clear goal of what she wanted her life to be like in adulthood, and a baby wasn't going to keep her from her sought out future." Peeta rubbed his forehead, and grimaced a couple of times before continuing, "She did try for a couple of months after Prim was born, but she just had too many extracurriculars to get back to, if she wanted to get that Political Science degree from university.

  
"Her parents wouldn't allow her put the baby up for adoption, saying it was the cowards way out, and their daughter wasn't a loser... but I was already head over heels with Prim, so I was an easy decision to take her, bring her home with me, and care for her. Madge refused to marry me very early on, which in hindsight, was the probably the best decision she made during the whole ordeal." He sighed again.

  
"I'm sorry Peeta. Was it then, when you called out for my help?" Katniss asked, biting her lower lip in contrition.

  
Peeta, looked her in the eye, and shook his head, no. "No..." He trail off, lost in thought. "Madge and I broke up shortly before I turned eighteen. She had managed to catch up with the classes she had missed while out after childbirth, she was accepted into an Ivy League school, and she left me with a tiny baby, that still needed her mother so much.

  
"Madge met this guy in college, they married after their graduation, he became the youngest Senator in his state, and they lived in Washington DC for a few years. They divorced not long after Prim's ninth birthday. The Senator never even met Prim. Now, Madge has her own political career, in the State of New York's government. She's a very busy woman, without time for a family, let alone a tween daughter that craves the attention of a loving mother."

  
Katniss felt her chest tighten in sadness for him, at the bitterness of his words, so she placed a comforting hand on his forearm and gave him a soft squeeze, "I am so, truly sorry, Peeta."

 

His blue eyes, that had crinkle in a glare at the memory of the woman he called Madge, softened when he finally looked back at the pixie. "Don't be..."

 

"I am. I wish I had been there for you when you needed me..."

 

"But you're here now... for Prim. That's all that matters."

 

Before Katniss could say anything more, Peeta continued, "I'm sorry about the misrepresentation of Tinkerbell. Believe me, Pixies and Fairies are not the only people that have been affected by that, from Hollywood,"

"Oh... um, who's Hollywood?"

Peeta laughed, but right when he was about to tell Katniss all about Hollywood and the movie industry, Prim rushed back into the small home office, to collect Katniss, so she could show her the castle she'd made for her pixie friend, out of solo cups and various other crafting materials.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Katniss woke up startled by the loud noise of a door slamming shut.  
She was assaulted by a barrage of feelings, so strange and foreign to her that she moaned aloud, almost in pain, in her tiny 'King size bed' Prim had fashioned her, from a jewelry set gift box, and a silk handkerchief.

  
Her instinct told her it was Peeta she was sensing, which made her burrow deeper in bed, knowing full well she'd never fully understand the man's multilayered bouquet of emotions; in fact, she was so sleepy and tired, she allowed herself the small selfish impulse to ignore him; he was, after all, a grown adult and Katniss' allegiance, laid with the Mellark children, not the adults.

  
Also, since Peeta was now home from his dinner engagement with Clove and friends that night, Katniss didn't have to be an adult watching a child herself anymore, she could go back to sleep and restore some of her spent magic, from the last few days of constant traveling... or at least she should do that, after she got herself a drink of water!

  
Katniss' mouth was parched, and her tongue felt like sand and dust all the way down her throat. North Carolina in the summer was a scorching place, and unlike back home in Devon, she couldn't rush underground to fend off the heat of the human's above ground level. She wondered how could they live so exposed to the baking sun that way? Even at night time, the warmth was intense.

  
The pixie sat up on her soft, cushioned mattress, and rubbed her eyes lazily. She felt a strange pulse go through her tiny body, which scared her for a second, but it soon passed, leaving her confused. Her face, arms, and legs tingled from the odd sensation, but ultimately, she decided to ignore it, throwing her covers off of her at the same time. In a moment she was stretching her wings and limbs out of bed, and was soon flying out of her solo cup castle, that sat on a table next to Prim's bed.

  
She hovered over the sleeping girl for a moment, before leaving the bedroom and heading down the stairs of Peeta's cozy, little two floor house.

  
The pixie was still groggy and her wings drooped a bit, making her feet nearly touch the carpeted floor beneath her. She couldn't muster the energy to fly any higher, so she didn't even try it, completely forgetting about Prim's beast of a cat, that seemed to dislike Katniss, unlike any other animal she had ever encountered in the wild.

  
A loud, pained groan coming from the direction of Peeta's room on the lower floor made Katniss stir out of her half-asleep state.

  
A bang, from a body colliding with a wall, or maybe furniture, reached the pixies's pointy ears not a moment later, and panic held her captive for a long beat. She was spurred into action when another grunt filled the hallway that led to the man's room. Forgetting her thirst, the small winged creature lunged herself against the wood door that separated her from her friend.

  
She pushed, and heaved, flew away and back against the door again and again, until her shoulders screamed with pain, but the sounds of distress and agony that came from behind the locked door scared the pixie to the core, and she was currently too weak to waste her magic in taking human size to open the door for herself, she had to save all her energy to help Peeta, whatever the situation he was in was.

  
She was frantically looking around for something she could use to wedge the door knob open with, when she noticed Buttercup, Prim's mistrustful cat, sitting on the edge of an opened window. Yes! If there was one thing, Katniss knew about the Mellark boys, was that they always slept with their windows open, no matter the season of the year.

  
She shot out of the window, making the cat leap from his perch, eying the flying thing with annoyance. Katniss would have to talk to him later on, and apologize for her conduct, but there was the pressing matter of Peeta in trouble, or at the very least in a whole lot of pain, and she needed to get to him and save him!

  
Katniss circled around the house to reach Peeta's window, which looked over a bed of flowers in the backyard. Her wings flapped so hard that she was creating a current right behind her, but when she finally reached the open window panes, stopped frozen in her tracks.

  
The image, the sounds, the smells... everything in front of her was so loud, confusing and distorted. She was disoriented by what was going on in front of her; she squinted, trying to make heads or tails of the situation, but she couldn't keep herself upright very long, not after all the exertion that rushing to Peeta's aid caused her. She slid down the side of the white painted wood frame, ending half sat, half knealt on the windowsill, while her brain tried to make sense of all her eyes were seeing.

  
Peeta was in the nude, holding himself up on his mattress by his hands and forearms. Every muscle in his body rippled with movement; every inch of his naked skin glistened with a sheen of sweat. His slackened jaw, and his scrunched up eyes, made him look as if he was in pain, but he was speaking, grunting and moaning, and the most curious thing was that he wasn't alone.

  
Clove lay under him, equally nude, sweaty and sporting the same expression of pain and pleasure that so confused Katniss. She moaned and shivered, as Katniss watched with revolting curiosity, the spectacle before her wide gray eyes, mesmerized by the sounds of slapping flesh against flesh, and the smell of who-knows-what that permeated the bedroom air.

  
"Ah... fuck Clove, are you close? I'm about to cum," Peeta choked out.

  
"Almost... just... fingers, now!" Clove whimpered through a loud moan.

  
Katniss saw Peeta's hand slide between their bodies and disappear between their connected lower halves, then she saw with stunned surprise, how Clove thrashed and shook and trembled, arching her back, pushing her front into Peeta, while he sank his bared teeth into the mounds protruding form her torso, Katniss recognized as breasts.

  
Clove had been starting to calm down from her shocking reaction to whatever Peeta did to her, when he suddenly jumped out of bed, and stood by the edge of the mattress, pulling Clove by the wrist, he half pleaded and half demanded "Open your mouth!" Then, he rubbed his member in his fist, right in front of Clove's obscured face.

  
Katniss had seen Peeta's manhood before, the one time she followed him into the toilet, he proceeded to pee while she tried not to look too much in his direction, without success; but this looked nothing like it did back then! His member was engorged, stiff and angrily red. It was also glistened with slimy fluids, and the poor pixie couldn't stop staring at it, not until he threw his head back with eyes tightly shut, groaning loudly, while a thick, whitish fluid shot right out of its tip.

  
The word 'Beautiful' sprang to Katniss' mind unbidden, and for reasons she ignored. She had no time to dwell in the puzzling reaction she had to watching him like that, there were still many things to see.

  
Peeta's hand, had somehow tangled into his companion's disheveled hair, and he only let go, once his breathing had calmed some. Katniss now had a clear view of Cloves face.

  
The human woman, was wiping the fluid from the side of her cheek and down her chin, at the same time leaping from the bed, and rushing into the ensuite bathroom. The pixie heard the woman groan in disgust, soon followed by the rush of the open tap.

  
Katniss' eyes had stayed on Peeta the whole time, in morbid fascination of what she had just witnessed. She hadn't noticed, how she had slipped from her hiding spot, slowly glided towards him, as if to try and touch his back muscles, which flexed every time he took a deep breath, until he turned around to sit back on the bed and came face to face with her.

  
His eyes widened in recognition, which made her come to her senses immediately; she was glad she was only hovering an inch or so inside the room when his incredulous, half choked voice blurted out, "What the fuck...?"

  
"What is it?" Asked Clove jogging from the bathroom, wrapped in a tiny silky lavender robe. Her hair was gathered in a messy bun at her nape, and there was a toothbrush sticking from the corner of her mouth. She came to the window and fully opened it to look outside, following her fiance's line of vision, but the only thing she saw, was a pair of luna moth wings, flying around the corner of the house and into darkness.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Katniss sat a plate piled high with freshly griddled blueberry pancakes on to the table, just the way Mrs. Mellark had made them back in London one morning. She rushed to pull a skillet out of the oven filled with breakfast potatoes, drizzled with butter, chives and finely grated cheddar cheese, Bill's recipe this time; the pan hadn't touched the table surface when she had let go of the handle, and turned to the stove, fishing, out of another hot frying pan, a few sausage links, the same kind Rye swore by... it seemed the Princess of the Pixies had mastered southern breakfast cuisine like champ during her stay with the Mellarks in England, yet the pent up energy that was overwhelming her, had yet to dissipate, so she headed to the refrigerator, looking for something else she could cook.

  
"Do Americans do dessert after breakfast?" She asked herself out loud as she leaned all her weight on her left leg, while her right one curled around the left, her arms twisted over her chest, while her right hand scratched her chin. She looked like a pondering flamingo, with her multicolored socks and Prim's bright pink apron on top of her sleep clothes, that suspiciously resemble the white and yellow daffodils, in Peeta's garden.

  
"Dessert is good any time of day, just not in my brother's house... he's a party pooper!" Said Rye cheerily from behind her.

  
She jumped, startled by his voice and turned to see him smiling smugly, for how he made her react.  
He entered the kitchen through the back door, which stood wide open to the early hours of morning. "I see you've been cooking," He smirked in a sing song, "Peeta's grocery bills will certainly double, if you keep cleaning out the pantry, every time you make breakfast, Everdeen!"

  
Katniss glared at him, but instead of taking the bait, she said, "It would've been nice to know you were on your way here - I would have made more! I'm not sure this will be enough for all of us as it is," she sounded flustered and Rye raised an eyebrow at her, right before cocking his head around her's to look at the breakfast nook table that had already been set for four, instead of three.

  
"Um, I might be totally wrong, but if my math still works, I'd say you did account for me coming over..."

  
"What?"

  
"There's an extra place at the table." He pointed out unnecessarily.

  
"Of course there isn't,"

  
"I guess pixies can't count,"

  
"Don't be ridiculous! Of course we can!"

  
"Doesn't seem like it..."

  
"It's for Clove." She finally gritted out as politely as she could.

  
"Clove? What ya mean Clove? Is she coming over?" Rye asked looking a bit uncomfortable.

  
"Uh... no. She... she slept here last night, I think." Katniss' face felt extremely warm, and overwhelming embarrassment made her want to rush back into her solo cup castle.

  
"Clove what? Slept here? Why? She never does that! She never spends the night. Peeta wouldn't... he's always said he wouldn't do that, with Prim in the house!" Rye's voice was low in volume, but that didn’t mean he was calm, in fact Katniss could sense his distress feed her own.

  
"You know what?" He said suddenly, "never mind that! I don't care if Clove is here or why. I'm here, sneaking around before the sun is even completely out, because of a bet I have with Bill, and you will cost me twenty bucks, with all this Clove and Peeta distractions. I'm gonna be very darned unhappy with you, if I get caught. Because if you ruin this for me, I'll have to sit home for hours, thinking of a good way to exact revenge on you, and to be honest, I really don't have time for that, so, toodles!" Said Rye shaking his head from one side to the other, and marched right into the pantry without a second glance back at her.

  
He pulled open the doors to the pantry, and started scavenging for something.

  
Katniss only stared at him in mild alarm, disbelief and a bit of amusement.

  
"Aha!" He exclaimed exuberantly, reaching a hand into the closet. He pulled out a bag of flour, then replaced it with one that looked exactly the same, which he had kept in bag he clutched in his hand, the entire time. "I'm glad you made the pancakes before I arrived," he chuckled, stuffing the flour he took from Peeta, into the same bag he had pulled his own from. "You would've have a terrible time, trying to make pancakes, out of baking powder, instead of actual flour," he closed the doors and nodded at the closed pantry, then turned his face to wink at her.

  
Katniss' smile grew bigger and bigger as realization, of what Rye had done, dawn on her. "Don't tell him anything for a while, okay?"  
She nodded and winked back at him, feeling like herself for the first time in hours.

  
"See you at the bak..."

  
"UNCLE RYE!" Prim rushed into the kitchen, wisps of hair spilling out of her messy braids and sleep, heavy in her eyelids; she flung herself at him and he braced for the collision with clenched teeth. They both dissolved into laughter a second later, when he was swinging her around the kitchen playfully.

  
"Morning Little Duck!" Rye kissed his niece on the nose, before putting her down on her feet. "Hey... um, I gotta skedaddle before your daddy comes out of hibernation, especially if he's got company,"

  
"Too late for that, and I don’t have any company," Bit Peeta harshly as greeting, strolling into the kitchen, looking disgruntled and very uncomfortable. "What are you doing here, Rye?" Peeta stared at his brother from the side corner of the kitchen where he leaned on the counter, hostility brimming from him.

  
Prim extricated herself from her uncle's arms, noticing the way her father was acting, and decided it was a good idea to head back to the bathroom, to wash her face and teeth. "I'll see you later uncle Rye," she said giving her uncle a sad smile.

  
"Can't wait, Little Duck!"

  
Once the girl was a step out of the kitchen, Katniss made to follow her, but Peeta called her name, so low, it sounded spooky to her ears. She slowly turned to face him. Her face was getting paler by the second, and Rye finally broke the 'bully staring game', his brother was playing with the pixie.

  
"Okay... I'll bite. I'm here because I wanted free breakfast at your expense, baby brother, but then Katniss said I couldn't stay, because Clove was here, so... I was on my way out." He looked at his brother with a furrowed brow, "Now, you tell me there's no Clove here, and although I'm beginning to get very confused, I have to admit I'm actually very happy, because that means, free pancakes are back on the menu for me this morning!"

  
"Rye, you can cut the crap. I know why you're here," Peeta glared at his brother.

  
"No you don't!" Countered Rye rapidly. "And if you think you know, you can't prove it!"

  
"Rye, shut up! I know she told you about me and Clove. I know that's why you're here, damage control or whatever."

  
Rye was about to launch himself into a complicated, diversion explanation, to throw his brother off the trail of his prank, when Peeta's frustrated words registered, "Wait... what? Damage control? What the hell are you talking about? Why would I be here for damage control... of what? What did you do?" Rye was now staring quizzically, from Katniss' incredibly flushed face, to Peeta's almost angry one.

  
"Peeta, whatever you think I told him... I didn't," Katniss stressed gravely. "I don’t even know what it was I saw, although I think it looked oddly like what the wild ponies of Dartmoor do, when they mate," her eyes flickered embarrasedly from Peeta's disconcerted and slightly pink face, to the floor.

  
"So... you didn't call Rye here, to talk about what you saw last night?" Peeta asked, tension and regret stiffening his stance. He shifted his blue eyes between Katniss and Rye, and saw Katniss negate the question with a shake of her head, her eyes still glued to the floor. "God! This is embarrassing," He groaned rubbing his eyes roughly with his fisted hands, before making some kind of guttural frustrated noise, at the back of his throat.

  
Rye chuckled nervously, still hovering around the doorway, "You mean to say," he paused, looking from one to the other, "Her Highness here, saw you porking Clove?" Rye guffawed loudly, holding his belly as if it was the best joke he had heard in ages. "I can see how that would be... absolutely... gross," he laughed some more, ignoring Peeta's glower, or Katniss distressed fiddling, wiping a tear of his eye, Rye cried out, "DUDE! Why on Earth, would you bring Clove here for that shit? At least close the doors or something," Rye was now trying to catch his breath, while Katniss cringed at his last statement, she felt an overwhelming desire to simply cry.

  
"The door WAS closed!" Gritted Peeta out annoyedly, and that was too much for Katniss to bear.

  
In an instant, Katniss was pixie size, blue skinned, and her big bright wings flapped hectically about her in a whirlwind; she shot out of the open door before either man could say or do anything to stop her.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Mellark's Bakery stood proudly on Main Street, right across from Town Hall, Town Square and the adorable, Historical Chapel, with its white building and modest steeple, cheerfully welcoming all, in small town Panem.

  
The plaza at the very heart of the small town, felt like a slice of Southern Americana, taken straight from a postcard, with the towering trees surrounding the place, the single weeping willow at the corner, full of blossoms that swayed lazily in the breeze, spreading the aromas coming from the nearby bakery. People came and went from said bakery, carrying bread and pastries, drinks hot and cold, topped with whipped cream and other spices.

  
To enjoy their treats, some customers found a seat on the benches that flanked the willow tree, while others rushed to their cars, awaiting them in the lot demarked PUBLIC PARKING, opposite the Courthouse, at the other side of the square.

  
Katniss had never before seen a place of the like.

  
It was so different than back home in Britain, but she wasn't quite ready to feel homesick, when she was just discovering this new place, that reeked of history and old magic... she wished she could explore the place some more, but the whole Mellark clan, plus herself were due at the bakery for their meeting with The Guardian.

  
She spied around herself, mentally counting the people she saw walking about. She couldn't believe most of those people didn't even imagine magic was real, she didn't know if she should feel sad, offended, or sorry.

  
"Ignorance is bliss, Sweetheart," whispered a rough voice, just behind her.

  
Startled, she whirled around to find The Guardian, Haymitch, looking past her at the rest of Panem's denizens going about their business. She had been unaware she had said any of her thoughts aloud, but she wasn't surprised at all by his words; she felt the same somehow.

  
"You could say that again. I wholeheartedly agree." She offered, and fell into step with him when she noticed he was already moving towards the bakery.

  
She had arrived at the bakery with Peeta and Prim earlier, but being around him, while he was still feeling that same jumble of emotions, regarding the previous night, was unbearable to her, so she did what was now her go-to answer when she felt overwhelmed by things: she made a mad dash for the door, leaving everyone calling her name after her. She had found an empty bench, near a small statue of bronze children riding bicycles, and had been planted there ever since.

  
"Already regretting coming to the other side of the pond?" Asked Haymitch, fishing for something on the inside pocket of his very loose suit jacket.

  
"Not really. Just..." She sighed. "I think, living with Peeta is going to be my biggest challenge."

  
"How come?" Asked the man again, this time stopping her with a hand to her elbow. There was a layer of concern on his dark gray eyes.

  
"I don't quite know how to explain it. He feels too much... too often... all at the same time. Is overwhelming and confusing. A moment he's happy, the next he's angry, while he's been melancholy all throughout. It's exhausting and, I'm not sure I can channel everything correctly. Why last night for example, he was feeling... _something_... I'm not sure what it was, I thought he was in danger, but he wasn't - he was _mating_..." Katniss whispered the last word uncomfortably, and then shook her head. "I got scared because, I couldn't understand the emotions I was sensing, and I have so many questions... is that what it feels like to fall in love with someone? All confusion and despair, while feeling all this flood of ecstasy at the same time?" Katniss looked into Haymitch's eyes, her gaze desperate for answers.

  
"Whoa, whoa... stop!" Haymitch held a hand up. "Back up! First, did you read your book?" He waited for her to nod, "Alright, so, you understand you can't fall in love with a human, right?" Again, he waited for her, but instead of her nod, she pursed her lips and scrunched up her nose a bit. "Come on Sweetheart. We better get in there so we can talk about this in private." He motioned to the bakery and half growled his words in frustration. He could tell these ones, the boy, his family and the pixie, were going to be a pain in his ass.

 

 

* * *

 

 

In it's humble beginnings, Mellark's Bakery had consisted of a rectangular, open room, with a curtain separating the kitchen from the big empty space that served as the front of the shop.

  
They only had one big table that served as counter, closer to the curtain, so the owner, at the time, could simply slip in and out from the back with his baked goods as needed. Once the word was passed around the townsfolk, Papa Mellark added an extra table, where he sat a few baskets with rolls and breads that people could simply pick up for themselves, and tell him how many they've put in their own baskets or bags, and then, he would tell them a price to pay or trade for the goods.

  
As time went by, and the population grew, more tables were added, until the whole front of the bakery was packed with them and as the amount of tables grew, so did the range of goods offered. There weren't only breads and rolls anymore, but cookies, pies, cakes, even flour and cooking oils.

  
Then the need to modernize came, and the bakery was moved from one place to the next, to a building with a proper kitchen and storefront. Tables got replaced by display cases, and also a real counter. Papa Mellark's original box of change, got replaced by a register machine, and all the wood, clay and rough aluminum utensils, where replaced by new, shiny electric appliances... or so it seemed, judging by the story, the vintage looking pictures lining the walls of the bakery, painted to the curious visitors that cared to take a look.

  
There was even a picture of Papa Mellark's grave, a younger Mellark man crouching next to it, clearly the next baker in line, and next to that, another picture similar to the previous one, this time a man with three boys, standing next to three Mellark graves instead of just the one, but the next one... the pixie recognized. There were no graves in that one, but the sadness in the three boys, was painfully clear.

  
Unconsciously, Katniss touched the glass protecting the picture, with the tip of her fingers, tracing the face of the smallest boy. She smiled sadly at him. " _You_ , I love the most," She whispered to the picture quietly. She had lost count of how many times she had whispered the same words, to the few pictures of the boy she had encountered during the short time she had been with the Mellarks; it still stand true, the boy still held a spot of honor, that was entirely his own, in the pixie's tiny heart.

  
She startled, and moved her hand away from the picture frame, turning around with a wide smile ready to wish a 'very good morning!' to the person that had broken her reverie, just to find Lavinia looking at her confusedly. Katniss' smile slid from her lips, while her eyes fell to the woman's stomach. She fought the impulse to kneel next to the pregnant mother to speak to her belly, but still she didn't want to be rude to an innocent child, so she cleared her voice and said as brightly as she could "Very good morning. It is such a beautiful day. I truly hope you enjoy it!"

  
Quickly, she tried to leave, but Lavinia stopped her with a hand gesture that universally means 'Stop' or 'Wait'.

  
The woman stared at Katniss with round eyes, full of questions and curiosity, then extended a hand towards the pixie and waved her over, closer to herself. She beckoned once more, before Katniss gave in and still looking at the woman with apprehension, the redhead gave a curt nod and placed Katniss's hand on her belly gingerly. The baby's response was immediate.

  
Katniss had to cover her face with her free hand so she wouldn't freak out the mother-to-be, watching her like a hawk, because all she wanted to do was laugh and smile at the unborn child's incessant chitchat.

  
"I... know... you... can hear him... it's okay... to talk, to him."

  
Katniss looked up at the sound of mechanical voice, coming from something Lavinia was holding in her hand... a cell phone. She remembered there was some kind of application, that would read back text to a person in those devices. Katniss looked back at the phone, then at Lavinia's determined face and she nodded.

  
Cautiously, Katniss lowered herself to say hello to the baby properly, while Lavinia typed something out on her phone.

  
When Katniss had spoken to the baby and straightened up, she thanked the mother profusely. She was about to walk away, but Lavinia tapped her on the shoulder.

  
"Do... you... really... love, Peeta?"  
Her eyes were searching, but not unkind.

  
"I did... when he was a little boy." She said choking on her own words. "Now I'm unable to feel anything for him,"

  
Lavinia's eyes widened for a moment and held her finger up, in the universal sign of "one moment, please", she typed something else on her phone furiously, then staring at Katniss in the eye, she pressed the read button,

  
"Why? Is... it... because of... Clove? He... isn't, yet... married..."

  
Katniss' mouth fell open. She wanted to explain that she was a magical creature, and couldn't really love a grown human, but Bill would be angry if she did say that, so she just shook her head and lowered her face to the floor, before glancing back at Lavinia.

  
"It's complicated. I would love to know what it is to feel romantic love, like you do for your spouse. I just... I can't."

  
Lavinia's shoulders seemed to slump a little. Katniss figured the answer had been enough to pacify her, for she didn't press for more. Instead the mute woman heaved her tote bag on to her shoulder, and crossed to the front door.

  
She stood there for a moment, looking back at Katniss while her thumb glided up and down the cell phone screen, as if she was still trying to say something. Whatever it was, won at the end, she typed once more quickly.

  
"To feel... Love... is great. But it's also... always... complicated. I should... know."

  
Katniss cocked her head, trying to understand the cryptic words, but Lavinia was gone before she could find the meaning of her message.

  
Haymitch approached her, carrying a steaming mug of black coffee which he subsequently spiked with a spurt of the flask he pulled from inside his baggy suit jacket. "Come on, Sweetheart. Better get on with it. Is everyone here?" He looked at the Mellarks scattered around the bakery front, and nodded at Bill, in answer to his non-verbal question of 'Shall we?'

  
Bill motioned with his head to Haymitch, to follow him to the back of the bakery. The rest of the family was either already in the back or filing in right after them. Peeta was the very last one to enter the Administration Office, closing the door behind him.

  
"Where's Mrs. Mellark?" Asked Haymitch, "The younger one, mind you." He corrected right away, as soon as he realized there was a Mrs. Mellark already sitting there.

  
"Uh... I would rather she not attend these meetings. She has no knowledge of magical creatures, I would rather she stay like that," Said Bill authoritatively.

  
"Bollocks! You should tell her. You'll save yourself a lot of misunderstandings, like the one the first time they met, if you just come straight out and tell her what the girl truly is," Spat the Mellark matriarch, rolling her eyes.

  
"Thank you, Mother, but I rather she stays innocent..."

  
"What misunderstanding? Was her Highness in danger? What happened? Young man, I don't usually say this, but you might do well, listening to your mama," Haymitch cut Bill off, and spoke so quickly, it was a miracle everyone got what he said at all.

  
It took a good fifteen minutes to fill Haymitch in, about the incident at the airport, how Katniss had freaked everyone out when she started having a merry conversation with Bill's wife's stomach, in the middle of baggage claim, and how it had taken Bill a whole night, to dispel any concerns his wife still had about the strange woman they brought back from England, after they arrived home.

  
The only reason Katniss didn’t shoot out of there like a misfired bullet, during all the painful conversation, was because Prim had held onto her hand the whole time, but Haymitch kept watching her, his intense gray eyes studying her every head bob and the fact that her eyes remained downcast the entire length of the debate, of whether Bill should tell his wife about the Princess Pixie's true identity or not. The Guardian finally raised his hand to stop the Mellark's animated discussion; Katniss had been wringing her hands over her lap, looking increasingly distressed every passing second, and that tipped him off, of how wrong things were gonna go, if he didn't step in.

  
"Alright, that's enough. For now, the older boy can keep the secret, but I have to warn you, nothing good will ever come to keeping secrets from your significant other, Older Boy." Said Hayitch, fixing Bill with a penetrating stare.

  
"You know this because of your failed marriage?" Interjected Rye with a smirk, "I would've thought it was just the drinking, but I guess the drinking could be caused, because of a wife," he shrugged and smiled mischievously.

  
"I know, because is my business to know stuff, Sport." Responded the man gruffly. "Now, as I was saying, the wife can stay in the dark, for now, at least. The next thing I need to talk about is living arrangements, how are we on that. A pixie can't stay in human form, for more than a couple of days at a time, before they get weak and sick and powerless. Pixies need to rest, and to be able to fully rest, they need to be their own size to restore their energy."

  
"Like rechargeable batteries?" Asked Bill, looking at Katniss for a second, before turning back to Haymitch.

  
"Exactly,"

  
"My daddy and I will go to the pet store today to get her a rodent hut! I even found some moss at a craft store she can put the hut on, so it's all like being home, in the wild!" Intervened Prim enthusiastically.

  
"That's very good, Sunshine. I like that idea a lot!" Haymitch praised Prim, who straightened her back proudly after her contribution.

  
"Good! One last thing, you might be familiar with the whole deal about Pixies not being capable of feeling certain emotions on their own. Now, it's a misconception that pixies can't feel stuff at all on their own. They're quite capable of feeling: joy, excitement and even disappointment and even anger. They also feel loyalty, and have a sense of justice, most humans wish they had. What pixies can't feel on their own, is fear, sadness, jealousy, hate... love..."

  
"But I love!" Said Katniss fiercely, it was the first time Haymitch saw fire in her eyes since he arrived for the meeting. "I love Prim!" She assured, raising their held hands for all to see.

  
"Yeah, you do, don't ya?" Muttered Haymitch. "What you feel for the little girl is a reflection of what she feels for you, Sweetheart. Granted, with time, a pixie will develop attachment, and might be able to emulate the feeling of love, which in reality is mostly fondness. But you are right, Sweetheart. You do feel a bit more for little miss Sunshine here, than I would normally find.

  
"That's why I must inform you all, the Pixie, Katniss of the Evergreens, will only stay with the Human, Primrose Mellark, until her school year starts anew. Her Highness will have to return home to England, by the end of summer."  
And outcry of indignant WHY's filled the office space. Everyone was on their feet, arguing that the measure was uncalled for and arbitrary. Even Mrs. Mellark was screeching in favor of Katniss staying all the time she wanted to, but Haymitch wouldn't budge.

  
"Why?" Asked Katniss meekly under all the hubbub. Tears stinging her eyes, as she stared at her Guardian right in the eye.

  
"For your own good, my lady. My job is to protect you, not just to mentor you in the human world. You have to trust me on this one."

  
Katniss reluctantly nodded. And Haymitch stood in the middle of the room, where Bill and Rye where still discussing their minds.

  
"Katniss agrees to go back home at the end of summer."

  
Everyone fell silent, and returned to their seats.

  
"That concludes today's meeting. Please keep reading your guidebook and here is my card, in case you have questions. I guess I won't see you, unless I must. Have a nice rest of your week... erm...Peeta? Can I ask you a couple of questions about this Hamster house?" Called Haymitch.  
Peeta stood from his chair, stretching his arms and back, before walking slowly towards Haymitch.

  
"Um, I'm not familiar with the product my daughter was talking about, but hopefully it won't contain any chemicals, or anything dangerous... I know Prim is very excited about this whole pixie hut thing, she might be going a bit overboard..."

  
"Stop. I don't really care about the hut, Boy. It's fine. You can put her in a shoe box for all I care, she won't need much room. What concerns me, though, is that pixies don't EVER feel remorse, guilt or embarrassment, and _that_ girl right there, was riddled with them all throughout the meeting. Plus sadness. Don’t forget sadness," Peeta felt trapped by Haymitch's stare, and instantly felt his face heat up.

  
"Boy, I don't know what's going on, between you two, but I'm gonna let you into a bit of a secret," Said Haymitch, lowering his voice a bit.  
Peeta stiffened at how low and menacing Haymitch's voice had gotten, but still he leaned in closer to the man to hear what he had to say.

  
"We are always told that Pixies can't fall in love. That's a lie. Pixies do fall in love, not often, but they do. Once they fall in love with a human, it's over for them. They lose their powers, their magic, they become mortals and on occasions even lose their lives. Their little hearts aren't built for heartache, let alone heartbreak... Be careful! The first sign of their loss of..." Haymitch fished for a word, waving a hand in the air, before settling for: " _Pixiness_ , is the ability they gain to feel emotions only reserved for humans, on their own: guilt, embarrassment, whatever she feels for your little girl... Katniss shouldn't be experiencing those," The Guardian looked grim, older and harsh for a moment. But then he softened, because Peeta's face reflected an endless cocktail of feelings, from fear, to regret, to longing.

  
Haymitch clapped him on the shoulder. "Chin up, Boy. Not all is bad, there are ways to keep her safe. And I'm already working on it. I'll get back to you within the week, so we can talk ideas."

  
Peeta nodded and thanked the man, before leading him outside the room and out of the bakery.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Supper that evening had been strained and uncomfortable for almost everyone. Rye tried his hardest to keep a semblance of levity but it was all in vain for the most part. Finally, Peeta announced it was time for them to head home, but before he could even get up from his mother's dining table, she spoke.

  
"Rye, why don't you take Prim home, while I have a word with your brother and Katniss?" It wasn't really a suggestion, but more like a command.

  
Mrs. Mellark's lips were set into a thin line and her eyebrows were furrowed; she meant business and neither Rye nor Primrose dared object to the directive, so with similar grimacing smiles and an a silent apology in Rye's eyes, they gathered Prim's stuff, hugged Bill and Lavinia, who also got the boot from Mrs. Mellark and left the dining room in an heavy silence.

  
Katniss tried forcing her eyes to meet the humans, but she found it difficult. She felt like pressure would soon compress her down into the cushion of the antique dining chair she occupied. She wiggled in her seat, trying to get comfortable without success.

  
"Well," Mrs. Mellark spoke, "so the Pixie is to go back to Britain in a couple of months time." It wasn't a question.

  
Peeta nodded, chancing a glance at Katniss who still couldn't make eye contact. "Yeah, that's what Abernathy said, anyways."

  
Silence invaded the room once more.

  
"I want more time with my granddaughter," said Peeta's mother after a moment. Her voice was demanding, but it lacked the usual bite that followed her demands most days.

  
"Well, you can see her every day, for the next eight days then," supplied Peeta with a note of weariness in his voice. "After that, it will only be whenever I can make it down here, if I can make it at all. Traveling back and forth between here and New York will be a pain in the ass."

  
"Probably. But, once the pixie leaves, Prim will be alone again; I'm prepare to commute to New York City in order to be with my grandchild, if I have to. But, I believe the Pixie could do us all a great service, if she learn how to manage traveling like a human," Said the woman, she steepled her fingers together and spoke in calm, even spurts, in a business like manner.

  
Katniss perked up, straightening in her seat. Peeta only sighed, before asking tiredly, "Whatever do you mean, Mother? How would Katniss traveling on her own be of ANY service to anyone, but herself?"

  
"She can fly Primrose, back and forth."

  
"What?"

 

"I could do that!" Katniss chimed in excitedly, "Just teach me what I need to do, I'll do it!"

 

"I'll also have to teach you to drive an automobile... you might need a cellular phone as well..."

 

Katniss was just at the edge of her chair, eyes wide in excitement, about to spill the two million questions she had at the tip of her tongue, when Peeta interrupted the females with a screech.

 

"WHAT?"

 

The two women turned to look at him as if they had completely forgotten he was even present in the room.

 

"No, back up just a second. You want Katniss, to take MY child on trips back and forth to Panem? And you also want her to drive? What is this? She can't... she can't do that!" Peeta leaped from his own chair and paced the floor, like caged tiger, behind the dining table. "Wouldn't I have say in all of this?"

 

"You will be busy with the new bakery and that upcoming wedding of yours, remember it's just nine weeks away..."

 

"God!" Peeta groaned. He had completely forgotten his wedding was so fast approaching. He realized he was not ready at all for it. He rose his hand in the air to stop his mother's prattling out reasons why Katniss knowing how to navigate a busy airport and learning to drive a car, where beneficial. "Fine. Whatever you want, Mom. But... Bill and I will teach Katniss to drive. I don't trust you with your collection of parking tickets and less than sweet disposition."

 

Mrs. Mellark miraculously didn't seem offended by her son's remarks about her skills, in fact she looked pleased with herself. "I'm glad we've reached an agreement," she told her son, "I'll expect you both bright and early at the bakery for driving lessons. I'll take your shift and Rye can swap with Bill when it's his turn. Now if you two excuse me, I want to go to bed. Please, be so kind to lock the doors on your way out?" The look of smugness didn’t leave the woman's face the whole time she spoke to them in her condescending tone.

 

"And, I expect to see my granddaughter at least every weekend, if it can be accommodated." She stood from her throne-like chair and went to her bedroom.

 

"Well, I guess I will need to get back to the computer at your house to start educating myself in proper airport traveling etiquette," the pixie said smiling broadly. It was the first real smile he had seen on her face the whole day, still, he couldn't refrain the grunt that grated the back of his throat.

 

 

* * *

 

 

After arriving home, and seeing Rye out and on his way to his own house, Peeta, Prim and Katniss settled to put together a big 3D puzzle Prim had begged to buy at the duty free store in Heathrow Airport, back in London. It was a replica of the London Bridge.

 

After they had managed to put together the foundations to build up the puzzle, Peeta told Prim it was bedtime, and they would work more on the bridge the next day. She agreed after hugging him and wishing everyone a good night. Katniss saw her to bed, and the girl was out in mere minutes.

 

Katniss tip-toed back into the living room moments later, wearing her daffodil nightgown, brushing her hair and braiding it loosely. She went into the home office, where the computer sat and went to work, watching countless videos of people walking through airports, driving tutorials, and reading on either topic. But soon, her curiosity gave her an itch.

 

Biting her lip, her nimble fingers danced on the keyboard, Cinna had so courteously taught her how to use. He had told her she could find information about anything in the internet, and she really wanted to know about one particular topic...

 

Peeta heard the unmistakable noises of a woman moaning in pleasure.

 

The sound was faint, but it was real and confused him to scary degrees. He left the solitude of his bedroom and walked about the darkness of his living room, to his home office, where the sounds were coming from.

 

He was shocked and disturbingly aroused, to find Katniss sitting at his computer desk, her feet propped at the edge of the chair, one arm around her knees while she shoved popcorn into her mouth with her free hand, watching hardcore porn. He stood there dumbly, sporting the biggest hard on he'd ever had in his whole life, looking at her, frowning with her head cocked to one side, while her lips bunched up in a pensive expression, before she shoved more popcorn into her mouth and munched on it, as if she was studying a particularly interesting piece of information... maybe she was, judging by her next words.

 

"It seems, the same mechanics apply to humans as well..." She spoke to herself switching to a video of a documentary on animal reproduction. Two kangaroos where going at it, like... well... kangaroos going at it.

  
She scratched her chin for a moment, thinking it over and switched back to the pornographic video. "Although, I have to admit... I thought it would be a different act for humans... they're supposed to be the ones blessed with emotions, and love and... rational thinking,"

  
"We-we are!" Peeta choked out behind her.

  
She turned around startled, trying to shut down the computer as she swiveled in her chair. She almost fell down, but her bowl full of fluffy popcorn wasn't so lucky.

  
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry... oh dear... how embarrassing..."

  
They were both on the floor picking up the mess of popped kernels, and he froze at her use of the word 'embarrassing'. The conversation he had with Haymitch earlier that day came rushing through his head.

  
"No, please don't be embarrassed. Please. Don't," he half begged, as he threw popcorn in his trash bin. "I... I should've talked to you about it sooner." He said uneasily. "It must have looked really bad to you and you probably have questions, and you are also probably confused... and... please, don't think that,  _that_..." He pointed at the frozen video of the man holding a voluptous blond woman upside down, while drilling her into the ground, bearing his teeth aggressively, "is what sex between humans is all about," He sat on his haunches for a bit, holding his head between his hands, trying to calm himself down. He felt aroused and shamed at the same time.

  
"Look. Let's-um-let's go into the kitchen for a cup of chocolate, alright?" He looked at her searching her curious eyes, she nodded her agreement. "Good, we can talk about this. I can answer any questions you have, and if I can't, then I will let you FaceTime Effie, or Cinna and Portia. Deal?" She nodded again.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

"Humans mating habits, are... complicated, aren't they?" Katniss mused, cradling her mug of now lukewarm chocolate.

 

"Yeah. Perhaps. At least the psychological, emotional part of it. You were right in your assessment that the mechanics between humans and animals are virtually the same, except we are the only species that can copulate face to face... because it's supposed to be an intimate, loving act... at least, that's what I've heard." He shrugged, taking a deep pull from his own mug.

 

He chuckled ruefully for a moment. She lifted her eyes to find his. Hers were full of questions and he shook his head. "It's nothing. I was just thinking that, this has been some... fucked up rehearsal speech, for when I have to give Prim the talk. I guess I should thank you for it. Also, I dearly hope, the talk, it isn't as awkward and hard as this conversation has been." He smiled to his cup before looking at her again.

 

Her eyes were soft, but still inquisitive. "You are welcome? I suppose,"

 

He smirked. "Sure. Why not?" He took another sip of his beverage and they fell into a silence, not quite comfortable but not tense either.

 

"So. With Clove. You call that, mindless sex?" He had tried to explain the different types of sex from sweet, tender lovemaking to the rough, unloving, just selfish release sex, even covering forced sex, and a small talk about consent and coercion. It had been tough, and she had asked many questions that made him choke on his drink, but he had done his best to tell her with frank discussion, things as they were.

 

He swallowed the knot in his throat, before answering. "Uh, yeah, you can call it that. People... people sometimes do that. Even people in serious, committed relationships," He scratched the back of his neck nervously.

 

"Will a baby result from it?" She asked abruptly.

 

He choked on the bit of hot chocolate he had started to sip, and coughed it all up in his haste to respond. She was at his side, patting him on the back while he regained his composure.

 

"N-Nah... No. What me and Clove did together last night... it won't end up in a baby. No." He was squinting at her with watery eyes, he saw there was confusion in her face. There was disappointment and relief warring in there as well, he could almost hear the gears in her mind grinding out a multitude more questions, so he braced for them and they finally came.

 

"Why?"

 

"Why what?"

 

"Why won't there be a baby? Animal's mate with the whole purpose to reproduce. Wouldn't it be the same with humans?"

 

"Not necessarily. You can have sex just to have sex. You can have sex, for many reasons, some more noble than others and yes, you can have sex to create life, but that's not for everyone and it certainly wasn't the case last night."

 

Katniss, slumped back in her seat, and stewed in his words for a moment. She stared at him, her gaze swimming with questions.

 

"Humans can mate with multiple partners... even at once. I saw it in one of the films," Peeta cringed at her words, wondering exactly what else that could be misconstrued had she seen, but she paid no heed to his discomfort and kept on talking. "How many other partners have you mated with? Has Prim been your only offspring? I'm sure she'd love a sibling,"

  
Peeta floundered in his chair like a fish suffocating on dry land, but she wasn't done asking all her very inappropriate questions, and he was just not ready at all, for the last one in her arsenal. It blew his mind away and almost knocked him down to the ground.

 

"Will you fancy mating with me? I'm confident I'll be decent at it, and I can even try to do what Clove did for you... with my mouth?" She turned scarlet in the face and finally she couldn't hold her gaze to his. "I mean, it does look easy enough, and Pixies don't mate, you know. Our younglings hatch from eggs that come from the first laughter of a new child," She chuckled to herself quietly, stroking her mug with her thumbs, "I guess that Thinker-chime film, had to be accurate about something," she waved a hand lazily when he softly corrected her ' _Tinkerbell_ '.

 

"I-I don't think that'll be appropriate, Katniss," He said softly, not quite meeting her gaze, "let alone safe for you. Haymitch said..."

 

"I know what he said. I overheard that conversation. And you needn't worry about it. He's quite wrong! I'm a pixie, I can’t fall in love." She said with regret, sadness and even longing in her intense eyes. She didn't shy away from him until she stood up, "I'm just curious, Peeta. But, if it'll make you feel better, I can keep our relationship as cordial as a business partnership or even better... you can be my employer," She took her mug and placed it in the sink, turning around she looked at him once more.

 

He was holding unto his cup for dear life, soon it would break in his fists if he didn’t loosen up his grip. His wide blue eyes followed her form wearily, confused, and shocked.

 

"Goodnight, Mister Mellark. I'll be up early with breakfast waiting for you and your daughter." She turned around and left him there staring at her retreating back. The whole time, one thought invaded his mind, twisting and releasing and coiling around his pounding head, ' _ **I'm** human Katniss, and **I** can, and **I am** , against my better judgment, falling in love,'._

 

"God help me!" His head fell to the table with a dull thud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was it? Hope I haven't angered many of you. 
> 
> This is more or less the middle of the mapped out overall story for this fic. In the next couple of chapters, we will meet a couple of new characters, plus we will see a few very early ones return, I won't spoil anything by hinting. 
> 
> Katniss, Peeta and Prim are heading to NYC in the next chapter, plus Haymitch will be bringing by a surprise visitor. Peeta will struggle with his feelings and his sense of responsibility towards Clove, and Katniss will start to understand her own feelings a bit more. 
> 
> Please, feel free to leave me a message. Thank you for reading!


	8. New York Minute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken me so ridiculously long to update, but with my son on vacations, plus having my old house under contract and about to close on has been hectic all over. I haven't have much time to write. Fingers crossed for next month when school starts up again, and I'll have more free time! 
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me. 
> 
> Now enjoy! 
> 
>  
> 
> Dialogue in _Italics_ corresponds to Sign Language.
> 
>  
> 
> It has been called to my attention, that I didn't credited my banner, or my proof-reader... I'm so sorry about that. 
> 
> Beautiful banner courtesy of the Talented Loving-Mellark, and the reason my dialogue doesn't suck, is thanks to Shellibug, thank you ladies for your contributions!

"CLUTCH! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOOOOOOOOP!"

  
Katniss stomped on the car brakes so hard, it made Rye sway in his seat like a blade of tall grass in a windy meadow.

  
"What the royal fuck was that? Are you fucking training for the Grand Prix? You are supposed to be driving a twelve year old to school and back, you maniac!" Rye spluttered a mile a second, white as a piece of paper and shaking worse than one too.

  
"You told me I was driving slower than a grandmother," was Katniss' even response. There was no heat or bite in her tone, but her eyes were alight with a certain challenge in her gaze.

  
"Well, one thing is for sure," Rye snapped angrily, tearing the seat belt off and gingerly stepping out of his jeep. Once out, he turned to look at his brothers who snickered at him, leaning cross-armed on the brick wall behind the bakery. "I'm done teaching her to drive! If either of you are still crazy enough to get in a car with that road-rage beast - suit yourselves! I don't have a death wish!"

  
"She's a perfectly good and responsible student for me. Maybe it's you who doesn’t know how to teach!" Quipped Bill with a mocking smirk.

  
"It was your idea to make her drive a stick. She mastered automatic no problem." Added Peeta snickering at his brother's glower.

  
"Well, she's all yours!" Rye declared crossing his arms over his chest, "I recant. I don't want her driving the delivery truck. She's a traffic accident waiting to happen behind that wheel." He glared at Katniss, who was leaning on Peeta's car, filing her nails as if she wasn’t the cause of Rye's annoyance.

 

"It was a stupid idea, to even suggest Katniss delivered bread for us to begin with. I'm glad you recanted it. There are other ways she can help around, if she so chooses to," said Bill still grinning, the he turned to Katniss, "You are not under any obligations, to work in the bakery, Katniss. Don't you _ever_ listen to Rye!"

 

"Gladly," she said smirking sideways.

  
Mrs Mellark chose that moment to come out of the bakery, purse hanging from her forearm, car switch dangling from a hand while the other placed a pair of sunglasses over her face. She looked between her sons and the Pixie and rolled her eyes at the scene she encountered.

  
"I see you are done with your driving lessons for the day," she said at Katniss, who quickly straightened up, giving the older woman solicitous attention. "Come now, the DMV office is only open for a couple of more hours and I want to see if we can at least get you a permit today."

  
Katniss' eyes twinkled in merriment. She fell into step with the family matron, and waved her goodbyes to the boys.

  
"Mamma, I don't think Katniss is ready..." Started Bill, walking up alongside them, but his mother flashed him her signature 'I brought you into this world, I can take you out of it' stare, sending Bill back, cowering.

  
It was comical to see really. Bill was a grown ass man, almost 6 ft tall, 300 lbs of pure muscle, yet one glare from his mommy sent him flying to the safety of his bakery front, like a defenseless little boy. Peeta rolled his eyes.

  
"Pussy!!!" Jeered Rye as Bill made his way to the bakery, earning himself a shoulder shove and the birdie. 

  
Peeta liked to think he wasn’t as whipped by his mother as his big brother was; the truth was, Bill wasn't really whipped either, but he was smart enough to know when to fight back, which was only for matters such as his choice of wife, running the business the way he saw fit and defending his younger siblings.

  
None of these exceptions applied to Katniss however, so he let their mother get her way. Katniss still needed to get a license or all the time they spent teaching her the skill would be for nought.

 

* * *

 

The day of the move to New York came with as much thunder and lightning as everyone had dreaded it would. It took Peeta an hour to coax Prim out of bed and into the moving van; but when it became clear the tween was in no way going to cooperate with her father (or even make it easy on anyone) Mrs. Mellark brought out her deep, cobwebbed wallet, that only got  open under duress, to buy airplane tickets for her, Prim and Katniss. Peeta sighed in annoyance when he realized he was going to face the endless drive to New York City alone, but the alternative was dragging a miserable twelve year old on a ten hour, already uncomfortable ride. Parting ways there, was better, only lonely.

  
"Chin up baby brother," said Bill literally lifting Peeta's chin from his chest with a gentle finger, before cupping his cheek in an affectionate way, only a big brother could do. "Just look at it this way, you can drive faster, with less bathroom breaks and be there in half the time, that if the girls were riding with you. I know it's not ideal and you'll have mom there for a day, pestering you, but it'll be better this way in the long run,"

  
Bill's voice was soft, as if he was talking a little kid into taking his cough medicine, listing how good the fake grape flavor would taste if he only gave it a try.

  
"You'll make a great daddy, you know?" Peeta murmured, with a sad smile. "I'm gonna miss you Billy. Thank you for taking care of me and Rye." The younger man's arms flew up to coil around his big brother's neck, and quickly kissed his cheek. Before he could step away from the hug, Bill held him tight to him.

  
"I love you too, Peet."

  
"Come. Oooon, you guys! It's only New York!" Cried Rye out loud, "It's not like you won't see each other next weekend, plus there are hourly flights to Charlotte every effing day of the week. You're so sweet together, you're giving me diabetes."

  
"Come 'ere, you jealous idiot! Give your brothers some love," gruffed Bill, pulling Rye into the man hug and ignoring the middle boy's flailing arms and loud protestations.

  
"I want in the group hug too!" Squealed Prim, rushing head on into the wall of taut muscles that were the Mellark men. Rye opened his arm and the little girl was swallowed whole into their embrace.

  
Lavinia kept on snapping pictures of the family's interaction and although a couple of tears escaped her green eyes, she was smiling at them sweetly.

  
"Alright! Enough!" Barked Rye all but scratching everyone away from him. "Let's act like mature adult males that don't do that kind of mushy crap. We're giving the girls a bad example,"

  
"Of what? Unconditional, fraternal, familial Love?" Asked Katniss rolling her eyes.

  
" _I thought it was sweet,"_ signed Lavinia.

  
" _Thank you!_ " The pixie signed exaggeratedly back in response to the _other_ Mrs. Mellark's comment, "I thought it was sweet too, but leave it to Rye to ruin a perfectly beautiful moment."

 

" _Oh, I know what you mean! He's always such a party pooper!_ " Lavinia signed, shaking her head.

  
"I am not!" Rye groaned, "And stop talking about me as if I wasn’t here! At least wait until I'm not around to talk smack about me. And I can read your signs just by looking even if I'm far away!"

  
"Shut up Rye! Drive your niece and Katniss home, would you?" Cut Mrs. Mellark glaring at him. "The girls and I have an early morning traveling, and I want us all to go to bed at a decent time. Bill, remember you are dropping us off at the airport, so be at my house by six a.m." She then turned on her youngest son, her lips pulled into a line before she spoke. "Peeta, be safe. Drive with caution. There is no need to speed, and take as many stops as you find necessary. I want you to get to your destination in one piece. Now go, before I decide you're all staying here for good."

  
Peeta's retort, that the decision of whether he moved his family away or not, was not his mother's to make, died in his throat when he realized it was costing the woman all she had not to break down and cry. Mrs Mellark wasn’t particularly nurturing and very seldom showed any kind of affection toward anyone- except maybe Prim- but she did love her children, in her own way. She just never learned how to show it properly or even express it with words.

  
"Alright, Mother. As you wish. I'll call in a couple of hours to check in before Prim goes to bed," he said to his family in general. Then he knelt before his daughter cupped her face in his hands, "I'll see you tomorrow sometime, okay?" She nodded, "Be good for Grandma and Katniss,"

  
"I will. You be safe out there, Daddy." She said softly, her blue eyes welling up with unshed tears. "I'm sorry I made you go alone. I'll miss you tonight."

  
Peeta kissed the top of her head, "It's alright pumpkin. I'm sorry I'm moving you away from Panem,"

  
He stood up, and looked up at Katniss, who had been watching the interaction of father and daughter with reverence and interest. He took slow, deliberate steps until he was in front of her, so close, she could feel warmth radiating from his chest. She couldn't hold his gaze, so she bowed her face, dropping her eyes to his belt buckle.

  
"Katniss?" His voice was so soft, so quiet, her name sounded sacred falling from his mouth. She chanced a look up, and the intensity in his eyes sent her grey orbs somewhere to the left of him.

  
Seeing as she refused to meet his gaze, he curled his index finger under her chin, not too differently than Bill had done to him scarcely five minutes earlier and lifted her downcast face to his. She faced him and then she couldn’t bear to look away.

  
"Don't be scared. You'll do fine, I promise. But if you get overwhelmed, hold Prim's hand, real tight, and think of hot chocolate and warm cinnamon rolls..."

  
"And your eyes, as you're looking at me right now?" She breathed out.

  
His lips twitched. "If that makes you feel better. Calmed. Then yes," he whispered. "I'll try to be there, waiting for you, when you get out of the airport. Is that alright?"

  
"Yes," she said feeling reassured, "Thank you. Do be safe as you travel. I'd like to eat your cheese buns in the new house."

  
He finally smiled, and she did the same. "It's a deal." He stood away from her finally, and took a loving look to the rest of his family. He hugged Lavinia last, got into his Uhaul truck, and drove off.

  
"Dear Lord, watch over my boy."

  
Everyone pretended they didn't hear Mrs. Mellark's tiny prayer.

 

* * *

 

The Mellarks plus Katniss settled in the _Concrete Jungle_ after a few days of trial and error, navigating their new environment. With as much as Peeta had pursued and pushed for their move to the Big Apple, he was the one with the most issues adapting to their new lodgings, transportation and the constant noise pollution of New York. Katniss might have been new to all of it as well, and her eyes could never just sit still on one particular thing at a time, but Peeta knew in his heart, that had the pixie not been there to guide them into this new venture, he would've just packed up his still unopened boxes and driven right back home to North Carolina. However, Katniss made it her mission to help everyone take the move in stride, easing everyone's stretched nerves, one kind gesture or word at a time.

  
To Peeta's utter dismay, this only made him sink deeper and deeper into his idealized infatuation with the pixie. More than once, had he caught sight of himself on some reflective surface they've passed by, staring at her with lovesick admiration and longing. He only hoped he could shake the feelings before anybody else realized what was going on in his head and heart, plus, falling in love with a mythical creature wasn't fair to anyone: not Katniss, not Prim, not his fiancée Clove (who he often forgot existed until she popped up to remind him), not even to himself.

  
His mind would torture him the worst at night. He would lay in bed thinking about her: her gray eyes, her long silky hair, her skin both blue while she was in her natural form, and the sweet olive hue it took while being a human; he'd wondered what would feel like to kiss her lips, but most of all, he thought often of her misguided, petulant offer to emulate what she had seen Clove do to him, the night he was careless with lust and allowed himself the selfish act of having sex with his fiancée in his house, while his daughter was around. But then again, people did have sex with their children at home all the time, how else could there families with multiple siblings, if the parents didn't got their freak on with a house full?

  
The thoughts inevitably always led him right back to wonder what sleeping with Katniss would be like, because if he ever had a chance to do it, he wouldn’t care who was around! ' _Whoa there, Peeta! Calm yourself down, bud. Don't go there! She's a Pixie, she'll loose her magic, or even her life if you do something so vile to her'_. This thought always stopped his wandering fantasies right in their tracks and allowed him to force his mind onto his business or even his fast approaching wedding to Clove.

  
He dreaded thinking about his wedding to Clove.

  
He started feeling like the walls were closing in on him when he thought about the marriage, which was so unfair to the woman. He hoped against hope, that by the time the wedding was upon them, he had finally overcome all his tumultuous feelings and he was back to accepting his bland fate.

  
Deep down, he knew it was useless.

 

* * *

 

Prim sighed looking out the window of her bedroom. There was nothing green in sight from where she stood, yet her blue eyes searched, relentlessly, before giving up completely. She turned around to face her new room which was decorated similarly to her old one back home in Panem: off pink walls, pink curtains with white polka dots of various sizes and a brown trim.

 

All the furniture was white as well, but unlike her old bedroom, her bedspread was a girly pink, brown and olive green camouflage number, she and aunt Lavinia had found online and ordered immediately... ' _take the girl out of the South, but she's sure as hell gonna bring her camo to the city with her!_ ' she chuckled remembering her aunt signing the words to her after paying for the comforter and matching sheets. Auntie Vinia was right!

  
Prim jumped out of her desk chair, facing the window and grabbed the bag of supplies she had brought with her from Panem. She pulled out the contents one by one, and arranged them in orderly fashion by type, until she had four or five different groups of materials in front of her on her desk. She laced her fingers together and pushed her palms out in front of her, popping with a satisfactory cracking sound, all of her phalanges and knuckles, then... she was ready to work.

  
An hour later, she finally unlocked her bedroom door and strode into the living room with a pleased expression on her face.

  
"'Kay. You can come now!" Prim called from where she stood at the edge of the living room.

  
Peeta and Katniss turned to her at once. They had been banned from her bedroom earlier while she worked in a very secret project of hers, and it didn't matter how much the both of them had begged to help, she refused them both, pushing them out of her domain and closing the door in their faces. They had been curiously waiting ever since and now they have been invited back in, they weren't about to lose time.

  
Peeta stood from his lazy boy recliner, letting his newspaper drop on the floor in the heap of bad news and boring articles it was, while Katniss let her wings flutter and lift her up from her chosen corner on the floor, next to the electric hearth. The apartment was cozy, with a feature wall of naked brownish bricks, sustainable laminated wood flooring covered in mushy rugs, while the opposing wall housed a fake chimney and mantle flanked by two bookshelves with the flat screen TV mounted in the middle. It wasn't particularly big, only enough for the three of them and a couple of big item furniture pieces, yet it was very comfortable (if you didn't stop to think about how you were sandwiched between a handful of floors under and above).

  
"Lead the way, pumpkin," said Peeta striding to his child.

  
"Come on then!" She grinned happily and dashed away to her room with the other two following closely. Prim's room was as neat as it had been before everyone was barred from it, except for her desk. Her desk was a mess of miscellaneous debris: empty plastic and cellophane bags, strings of melted silicone from a glue gun sticking paper and plastic and sticks to her desk, to moss and more sticks; sticks carefully picked from the back yard of Peeta and Prim's house back in North Carolina, painstakingly chosen by width length and strength, not dried and brittle, but alive and bendable. And in the middle of scissors, glue and other supplies, stood a tiny, little log cabin with a conical, pointy roof made of moss and sticks, with windows made of clear cellophane that actually opened and closed. There was a little table and chair made out popsicle sticks, which was all the furniture included in the tiny house.

  
Katniss floated on flapping wings ten inches above the floor, and glided past Peeta farther into the room. Peeta only stood frozen in surprise under the doorframe, mouth hanging open in amazement.

  
Katniss' big toe rested on the floor her leg straight as a ruler, her opposite leg curled into the one she was "standing" on, and she leaned over the small hut to inspect it closely. Her wings shone brightly in intermittent pulses, until she dared touch the tip of her finger to the tiny window and pushed it open. She squealed in delight when a soft tiny curtain fell against her finger. She turned around to Prim with excitement in her wide twinkling eyes.

  
"Is this mine?" Her voice caught in her throat, making it sound tiny and rough.

  
Prim nodded, beaming at her friend. "I made it myself. Just for you!"

  
Katniss covered her mouth with both her hands and squealed louder, this time shooting up in the air until she hit the top of her head with the ceiling.

  
Peeta jumped in her direction and without thinking about it, yanked her down by the ankle until she was wrapped in his arms and soon deposited on the desk chair. He fussed over her, demanding she let him check her head for injuries because head wounds are always serious and should never be taken lightly. Once she was given permission to resume her excited celebration over her new house, she tackled Prim into a tight hug.

  
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! Its great!" The Pixie chanted into the girl's shoulder.

  
Prim laughed and after a moment, she asked her, "You wanna try it on?"

  
"Yes!" Shouted Katniss enthusiastically, separating from Prim and rushing to the little house. She rose into the air again, making Peeta very nervous, but he needn't have been because she rotated thrice in mid air, shrinking the higher she rose before shooting down into the little open door, at her normal pixie size.

  
"Mmm... I still haven't made you a bed yet, but I figure we can do that together, plus I know you like the idea of hammocks now and I wasn’t sure if you'd rather sleep in a hammock as opposed to a bed." Prim was talking pensively, in the general direction of the pixie hut. "So, the frame of the house I made out of popsicle sticks, but the walls and the ceiling are natural wood from back home. I had to buy the moss at a craft store, because I couldn't find any just laying around... hope it's okay. And lastly, the roof, I can actually take off, to put new furniture in as we build it, but otherwise it'll just stay put."

  
Prim fell silent and sat on the edge of her bed, twiddling her thumbs together, waiting for Katniss to emerge from the house.

  
Peeta sat next to her and placed a warm, heavy hand on his daughter's knee to give it a squeeze. "I think you did a great job, honey. I'm impressed!" He said quietly.

  
Prim looked up at him and returned his soft smile with one of her own, "You think she likes it?" She whispered hopefully at her daddy.

  
"Judging by her screams?" He chuckled, "I think it’s a pretty safe bet, little duck,"

  
Prim smiled at him, just as Katniss shot out of the house and grew back to human size, kneeling before the girl.

  
"Thank you, so, so much, Primrose, dear. The house is lovely, and I cannot express properly how much I love it with words alone. You have made me very happy, sweetheart!" Katniss kissed Prim on forehead, and then swooped down for a tight hug. "I love you, Prim,"

  
"I love you too, Katniss." She said in contented sigh, then looking up at her father's smiling face, Prim reached for his hands that now rested on his thighs and pulled him closer for a group hug, "I love you both."

 

* * *

 

"Come along dear, I don't quite trust not having you in sight in crowds this large," spoke the Pixie in a strained voice, clasping Prim's hand in hers harshly.

  
"I'm sorry Katniss. I'm right by you now," Said the girl both contritely and reassuringly.

  
They ventured on foot to the post office to buy some stamps for yet, another one of Mrs. Mellark's demands. They were supposed to send the Mellark matriarch weekly reports of Prim's activities, via post mail.

 

Katniss knew they should have purchased the stamps back in North Carolina, but both Rye and Peeta insisted they could get them in the city no problem. Well... neither of them realized they were sending out a pixie with onset Enochlophobia disorder, to the very crowded streets of New York City. The only thing that calmed her down at times, was the feel of Prim's little hand tightly wrapped in hers.

  
More often than not, Prim had suggested they just ordered things online to save her friend the distress of being surrounded by so many strangers, but Katniss, in all her stubborn pig-headedness, insisted they went out to run errands, in hopes she could beat and conquer her fears. But this particular trip to the Post Office would prove disastrous for more than one person in the end. 

  
Prim squeezed Katniss' hand, in apology. She really hadn't been that far away, but she had indeed fallen behind, looking into some shop's window. Something in there had caught her attention and she was already plotting to convince her dad to bring her back so she could inquire about what she saw. When she noticed Katniss standing ramrod straight, head flipping from side to side and gray eyes starting to grow frantic in search of blond headed children, Prim realized she had allowed a too big of gap grow between them, so she rushed to her Pixie and tried to not get distracted for the rest of the walk.

  
They finally arrived to the tiny, satellite shop that served as Post Office, in one busy sidewalk of their new neighborhood. The place was a glorified hallway with counters lining the narrow walls with all the materials for shipping necessities, not bigger than one of those souvenir shop's in Times Square. Luckily, only a handful of people were still behind the times, the  still mailing letters in that tiny hole in the wall office.

  
Katniss picked up a couple of flat rate boxes in different sizes, because, why not? And then proceeded to stand in line for the next available register. She had let go of Prim's aching hand while she bent down to pick the mailing boxes she wanted. The place was an open rectangular space with only one long narrow table in the middle, for costumers to work on their packages, plus there were only five or six other people in there with them. There was no fear of losing each other, in the manageable crowd. But as Katniss fell into her spot at the back of the queue, she noticed Prim standing rigidly still, her face stony and a little ashen, nodding robotically to a woman immaculately dressed in a dark blue business suit, blonde hair gathered back in an intricate salon-made chignon bun and an air of regalness to her.

  
The woman bent at her waist, patting Prim on the head in hesitation. The fact that Prim minutely dodged the touch of the woman, finally made Katniss react and in one swoop she was standing between the stranger and her charge, the fierce warrior pixie side of her sent agoraphobic Katniss so far deep into the recesses of her consciousness, she felt she could take on the whole city, if anyone dared touch her Primrose one more time.

  
The woman stumbled backwards a pace or two, before straightening up to her full height, a full five inches above Katniss' head; the slight smile that had started to form on her lips was replaced by an outraged scowl that marred her pretty features. Unlucky for her, no one had a scowl quite as menacing as Katniss'.

 

It did not make a smidge of a difference that Katniss was so short in comparison, she would mop the floor with that woman if she had to. 

  
"I will kindly request that you cease speaking to my charge, miss." Said Katniss calm and clear. 

  
"I beg your pardon?" The woman's voice was slow and dark, "That girl you just called  _your charge,_  miss whoever-you-are, is my _daughter_!"

  
Katniss' eyes widened in shock.

  
She took a moment to scan the face of the woman claiming to be her Prim's mother, to see if she could find any recognizable familial features, linking her to the little girl behind her.

  
The woman had stricking blue eyes, but the shade resembled crystalline water instead of the deep forget-me-not Prim and Peeta shared, so the eyes were a no go, except for the almond shape and possibly the eyebrows as well. Her nose was a dead giveaway though, so was her thin, delicate chin. The rest was either a Mellark trait or something entirely Prim's, like her cheekbones and mannerisms.

  
Katniss leaned closer to Prim, who was unnaturally quiet behind her. The pixie took a quick look back, to see Prim's gaze reluctantly wavering from side to side, not meeting anyone's eyes.

  
"Are you Madge Undersee?" Asked Katniss evenly, staring directly into the woman's eyes.

  
Madge arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow, and studied Katniss' face for a moment, before responding with an equally even, "Yes. Margaret Undersee-Crane. Soon to be Undersee-Hawthorne." Her response came out haughty as she proudly stated her name. She eyed Katniss for a moment, before rudely telling her, "I have no clue of who you are, or why are you alone with my daughter in such a big city, so I'm taking my child with me."

  
Madge made to grab Prim and walk out of the store but Katniss was quick to slide between them, blocking the girl from her outstretched hand. "I'm sorry, I suppose I should introduce myself then. I'm Katniss Everdeen, as I said before, Primrose is my charge," she said without batting an eyelash, "You cannot take her anywhere without my say so, and I will not _say so_ without her father's permission."

  
"Of course I can. She's my daughter! And her father can't make decisions about my child without consulting me first!" Madge hissed.

  
Prim finally lifted her eyes and glared at the woman claiming to be her mother, as if she had found offense to the very words she heard. Stepping from behind Katniss' protective stance, she smiled sweetly at her mother and opened her cute little mouth, to horrify both women with what fell out of it.

  
"Oh but you’ve been so busy, Mommy." Voice girlishly sweet, then, all hell broke lose. "I guess many things have happened since I last saw you on Martin Luther King Jr's Day, including our trip to England and Katniss coming back home with us. But when you’re chasing your next new husband, you can't be bothered to worry about unimportant things, like your family in North Carolina. You missed Granddaddy's birthday bash, you know. I made his cake. Decorated it myself too. But its okay, I'm sure he enjoyed the store bought knitted sweater you mailed him. By the way, thank you for the cheap Valentine's Day card you sent me. It was a sweet gesture, although I couldn't eat the chocolates that came with it because I'm lactose intolerant. You would know that, if you were any type of mother but you aren't, so don’t you even try to pretend you care right now, you mean witch..."

  
"Primrose! That is enough young lady." Chided Katniss, surprised at her little ward. "Apologize this instant!" She demanded with a very serious expression on her face. "You're _not_ lactose intolerant and you know it! I will not allow lies from you, young lady."

  
"I'm sorry, Katniss." She said softly.

  
"Not to me!" Katniss gasped, "To your mother,"

  
"No," choked Madge embarrassedly, looking at the handful of people in the shop. "It's fine. I-" She stopped for a moment and cleared her throat, "I will be calling Primrose's father. You can't leave until he's clarified some things, mainly, why my daughter shows such disrespect towards me,"

  
"Oh, you don't need Dad for that!" Chirped Prim, "I can tell you right now. I don't like you much. You're ashamed of me, I've never met your husbands and you're never around,"

  
"Primrose! One more word out of you, and there will be consequences!" Said Katniss lowly.

  
Prim shot her an annoyed glare, pursing her lips and crossing her arms over her chest petulantly.

  
Madge only stood there numbly for a second, before pulling her cellphone out of her purse and shuffling through her contacts frantically. She groaned at the back of her throat, and defeated, looked up at Katniss and Prim, "I don't have Peeta's number programed in my phone," she said uncomfortably, "Can you, maybe," she motion a hand towards her device.

  
Katniss wasn't sure how to feel about this woman; her fingers twitched and after considering the blond in front of her, she took a breath and the proffered phone, to quickly type in Peeta's number which she already knew by heart.

  
"There," muttered the pixie, "Please, call Peeta so we can all be on our way."

 

They waited for Peeta outside the small post office. It took him close to forty minutes to leave work and make his way to them. The tension was heavy and thick while they waited, the only conversations happened between Katniss and Prim and even those were stilted and mechanic.

 

Katniss fussed over Prim and produced a little bottle of water and a bag of snack size cookies from her bag to give the child. Madge just watched the interactions while her face remained an unreadable mask, every now and then she looked at her watch and tapped her foot or fingers, emitting exasperated noises causing Prim to glare at her, which stopped the woman's impatient ticks.

  
"Prim! Katniss!" Called out the deep, manly voice of Peeta as he saw them.

  
"Daddy!" Prim rushed to meet him halfway, and jumped into his arms, clinging to him with all her might.

  
Katniss stood straighter, but didn't move from her spot by the brick wall of the store façade.

  
"What's going on, Madge?" He asked severely, a deep frown on his handsome face. Prim wound her arms tighter around his neck, so he simply picked her up in his arms, as if she was a toddler, and walked closer to the women.

  
"I should be the one asking you that!" was Madge's response. "I find my daughter by chance, traipsing through New York City on her own. And she tells me you live here now? Did any one think of letting me know about this?"

  
"Okay, for starters, Prim was NOT alone. She was with Katniss. They came to mail a letter and then they were going back home..."

  
"I don't even know who Katniss is!" Interrupted Madge furiously.

  
"And who's fault is that?" asked Peeta rhetorically, his eyes hard and angry. "I called your office, and left you not one, but three messages. I asked your assistant to have you call me back, you never did! Plus, its obvious you haven't talked to your folks either, since they've known about the move for months and met Katniss, who by the way is Prim's caretaker when I'm working."

  
"Well... I've been busy," Madge said petulantly, allowing Katniss to see markedly resemblance of Prim in the action.

  
"So have I!" Peeta yelled furious.

  
Prim whimpered, hiding her face in the hollow of her father's neck. Katniss winced, but caught his eye at Prim's noise.

  
Peeta took a deep, cleansing breath to calm himself down. "Katniss, please take Prim home. I'll meet you at the apartment soon."

  
"Of course," she responded promptly swooping to collect the girl. Prim refused to let go of her dad for at least a minute, but finally relented and Katniss dragged her away, only sparing a few glances back at Madge, who looked sad and angry and hurt as she stared at Katniss and Prim walk away.

  
They hadn't make it five steps, when Madge's shrill voice returned, "You didn't tell me you planed to get a fucking British nanny straight out of England. How original of you, Peeta, very Mary Poppins!"

  
"I can do, whatever the hell I want, Madge. It's my prerogative to hire a Nanny if I damn well want to. I don’t have to consult you or seek your approval on how I rise my child..."

  
"And you're doing a bang up job! A child with no respect for her mother!"

  
"If you want respect, then earn it!"

  
Katniss placed a hand over Prim's ear pressing her head against the swell of her breast, cushioning the other ear to keep her from hearing her parents' terrifying row. The pixie felt every emotion choking Prim out as she rushed them both home and away from the awfulness of the day.

 

* * *

 

  
The girls had been in the apartment for about an hour, when Peeta's keys jingled in the door lock. Both Prim and Katniss stood from the couch to meet Peeta at the entrance hall. He carried a big pizza box in his hands, which he handed to Katniss as soon as he stepped inside his home.

  
He greeted the girls tiredly and walked straight to the living room, planting himself like a tree on the same couch Prim and Katniss had just vacated.

  
"Would you like me to serve dinner right away?" Asked Katniss quietly.

  
"Sure. Whatever you want," He answered throwing an arm over his eyes.

  
Prim followed Katniss into the kitchen, half scared of whatever her father could be thinking of. She was sure at some point, he'd be wanting to have a talk with her and she had had time enough since meeting her mother and speaking so nastily to her, to know that kind of behavior was not going to be tolerated anymore.

  
"Prim," Peeta called from the couch, just as the girl thought she was safe in the kitchen.

  
She didn’t dare delay. "Yes, Daddy?" She said meekly.

  
"Sit down, sugar." He said nodding to the seat beside him with his head. He sat upright when she lowered herself in the cushions next to him.

  
"So, that was a big shock to see your mama at that post office today, wasn't it?" He asked tiredly, looking at her profile, since she couldn’t bring herself to face him.

  
"A bit," Prim mumbled. "She-she kind of ambushed me. At first I didn't know what to say and then I got pissed off." She looked at him quickly and returned her sight to the floor right away. "I didn't mean to sound so hateful. I just got mad. Who does she think she is saying that you need to ask her permission to do anything? She left us, she has no rights!" Prim said with tears brimming in her eyes.

  
Peeta sighed, "Sweetie," he leaned over and picked her up in his arms without any trouble, and placed her on his lap, where she curled up like a cat, her tears falling in earnest. "I'm so sorry about that. I guess its my fault you and your mama don’t have a better relationship, I should've tried harder to get y'all together. It's my fault you lashed out. Our family tends to scream and fight and hurl insults. It ain't nice. And I'm sorry, but you should be better than me, Grandma, and uncle Rye. You should be sweet and nice and polite, no matter what. Can we work on that?" He asked softly, combing his child's long hair down her back.

  
"I guess so. I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble."

  
"I know you didn't, pumpkin. And I want you to know it's okay to be angry and hurt. Those are normal feelings and very much a part of life, but we have to make sure we... don't blow up on people. We have to learn to control our anger, and our tongues. I will try to do it too. What do you say? You think we can change our volcano-like rage?" He tickled the girl's sides, and she started to giggle, until she was full on laughing and squirming on his lap.

  
"YES! I PROMISE I'LL BE GOOD! STOP TICKLING ME!" She howled when it was clear he would not stop until she agreed.

  
"Good girl!" He chuckled too, stilling his fingers on Prim's ribs. "Now go help Katniss, while I wash my hands,"

  
They both stood from the couch, and were surprised to find Katniss standing right at the edge of the tiny living room, leaning on the wall, arms crossed, and a placid smile on her face. "I've set everything on the breakfast bar, but we still need napkins. Go ahead and put some by the plates, will you Prim?" She told the little girl softly.

  
Prim slipped by Katniss quickly, smiling and silent, as Katniss turned her gaze on Peeta.

  
"Everything alright?" She asked him cautiously, stepping closer to him.

  
Peeta sighed and shoved his hands into his work khakis, "I had to agree to let Prim go with Madge on outings, a couple of times a month, so they can get to know each other." His voice was tense, a slight edge of sarcasm underneath. "I have to tell my little girl, that she's got to go meet her mother next week, as soon as we get back from Panem. Problem is, I can't bring myself to do it just yet."

  
Katniss saw, felt, and experienced his emotions, down to the desire to punch something.

  
She rushed to him, her hands sliding up and down his arms that bulged and twitched with the effort to keep tight fists safely hidden inside his pockets, before they left holes all over the walls ruining their chances to get their deposit back.

  
Katniss clung to him, one hand started to smooth soothing circles over his chest, where his heart drummed a mile a second and she rose on tip toes to nuzzle her nose against his cheek, "It's going to fine, Peeta." She whispered into his ear.

  
"How do you know?" He choked out through gritted teeth.

  
"I don't. But I'm here to help whatever may come..."

  
In an instant, Peeta had her pressed to the wall behind, not and inch of space between their bodies. "Are you finally here for me, Katniss?" His voice was dark, low and full of a feeling she didn’t understand. It had her trembling in his clutches.

  
"I'm here for Prim, Peeta. You know that, but that doesn’t mean I can't be here for you as well, to help you when you have problems," She said in an unsteady voice.

  
"Then help me understand why I feel so cheated, so used, so inconsequential!" He gasped, pushing away from her abruptly.

 

Tears welling up in his eyes, he staggered backwards until he reached the back of the couch to lean on.

 

"I feel like every woman I've been interested in has never loved me back. At least not genuinely anyways. Not my mother, not you, not Madge, not even Clove. The only thing that sets you apart, besides the obvious magical creature reason, is that you never expected anything from me in exchange. Now Madge wants to become Prim's mother out of the blue, and I just can't fucking deal with it!"

  
"Can't you refuse?" Asked Katniss trying to stop her own shaking, doing her best to ignore the unsettling feelings she was experiencing on her own, to concentrate on what Peeta was saying.

  
She felt sorrow and hurt, that he included her with how he felt about the other women. She never intended to abandon him and she did love him more than anything and anyone once, it had been out of her hands to help him then, but now, she could be a healing pixie. He so desperately needed her now, so she swallowed all her ugly emotions and approached him again, holding his hand this time.

  
"Maybe I could, but I need legal counsel before I do anything. We never actually had a legal agreement on Prim, and Madge is still her mother with all the lawful rights she wants to claim. I don’t want to start having issues with her right now." Peeta sniffled. 

  
"Alright. We will see about it then," the pixie soothed, caressing his face at a more respectable distance than before. "Go wash up for supper. Prim has been done with the napkins for a while, and I've kept her magically  entertained all this time, so she wouldn’t come in and hear something she shouldn’t, but my magic is about shut now, and I can't hold up the illusion much longer."

  
"I didn't know you could that," he said in amazement, "Use magic remotely on another room,"

  
"Pixies are clever that way, mister Mellark... even more so than any old regular British nanny, even the mystically perfect Mary Poppins!" She said smirking.

  
"Hmm..." He bit his lip sheepishly. "You... heard that?" He winced, "I'm so sorry about that. I told her she was way out of line and that I trusted you implicitly."

  
"Well, thank you Peeta. I appreciate the vote of confidence, I hope to never disappoint you."

  
"I don’t think you ever could," He smiled at her sweetly, squeezing her hand that was still laced with his, and finally made his way to the bathroom, to wash up.

  
"Just so you know," said the small voice of Prim from behind the pixie, "I think you are way better than Mary Poppins,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we meet Prim's mother! There will be a whole lot more of her from her on out.
> 
> For those of you wondering, here are the definitions of the two weird phobia words I used in the chapter: 
> 
> **Enochlophobia:** fear of large crowds.
> 
>  **Agoraphobic:** a person with extreme or irrational fear of crowded spaces or enclosed public places.
> 
> Katniss isn't truly agoraphobic or Enochlophobic, but she does distrust large crowds and gets nervous in them. 
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments below!


	9. *Anniversary Chapter* aka It Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In celebration of **A Pixie for the Mellark Children** One Year Anniversary, a short chapter, featuring a big Everlark moment!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is shorter than my average for this story, but I just had to post something today! It's been a year to the date, since I posted chapter 1 of Pixie, I couldn't just let the milestone pass me by, that said, the first warning is this update has intentionally not been proofread by anyone! 
> 
> All mistakes are completely mine, but the content to follow is meant as a gift! 
> 
> A gift for my amazing Britishms expert, my uncredited pre-reader, my highlighter and the wall in which I bounce my ideas for this fic off, my Devon on-sight consultant: the amazing **Shellibug!** Thank you for sticking with me this whole year, prodding me when I stay stagnant and keep me going! You're a bigger help and integral part of this story than you know! Thank you friend!
> 
>  
> 
> A big heart-eyes thank you to Loving-Mellark for lending her amazing talents to this fandom, creating beautiful art such as the one displayed on my gorgeous banner! You rock Any! Never stop sharing your skills with us!
> 
>  
> 
> Thank YOU, my reader, for your patience. I never figured I could keep writing a single fic for so freaking long, but I guess I proved myself wrong. Thanks for not giving up on me and my spotty updates, it's been a crazy year for me, I bought a house, sold another, sent a boy with CP to pre-K and saw him thrive, and now I'm ready to see him step into Kindergarten! I'm glad to be here, and I'm glad you're still around! I promise I'll try to update more often! 
> 
> Without further ado... Chapter 9!
> 
> Text in _italics_ / **bold** represents usage of sign language.
> 
> Warning: Non Everlark Smut, but then a juicy Everlark moment!

 

After their first week in New York City, they welcomed endless expansions of green country and nothingness of North Carolina. The hills carpeted with grass and dirt that met the blue sky unencumbered, the fresh air filling their lungs and the song of free birds in flight, made them all sigh in contentment, and caused them to smile.

Katniss rolled down her window as the car sped down the road eating the miles one by one. She leaned her face as close to the opening as she could get away with, being sure to not catch Mrs. Mellark's eye earning herself a reprimand. All she wanted to do, was breath in the nature she craved. How had she missed it!

"I hope you children are hungry," said Mrs. Mellark in a most uncharacteristic manner, "Bill offered to grill dinner for the family." Then she fell completely silent as she drove with her eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"Okay," said Peeta dragging the 'o' slowly. "That's very nice of Billy, I guess. I'm gonna have to pass on the get-together though, I'm supposed to go see Clove..."

He was cut short when his mother gave him one of her searing glares, tearing her eyes from the road for the first time in almost twenty minutes. With an annoyed huff, Mrs. Mellark responded, "Clove is welcome to join us, you know. She'll be part of the family soon enough. It's high time we started including her in our family activities,"

Prim groaned, earning a warning glare from Katniss, who mouthed "Be nice," before settling deeper into her seat. Truth was, she felt conflicted about Clove being there too, but while it was okay for Prim to show displeasure, it wasn't Katniss' place to show it herself.

"I agree," said Peeta to his mother a little unwillingly. "I'll give her a call, and she can decide what she wants to do."

To everyone's surprise, Clove accepted the invitation, so Mrs. Mellark ordered Peeta to let his brothers know about the extra guest so they could account for her as well.

The boys' meeting was a happy one; they hugged and rough housed like little bear cubs, while the women looked on with amusement. Even Mrs. Mellark seemed relaxed.

After a while, Rye broke away from the silly wrestling match and grabbed Prim instead. He held her by her middle as if she was made of cloth and straw and flipped her side to side like a rag doll. The girl shrieked laughing, as her uncle turned upside down on her head, immediately twisting her right side up. Prim's legs and arms flailed every which way, gasping for air as she laugh.

She released a breathless "Please. Let me down!" But Rye put her across his shoulders and ran in circles as if he was a helicopter and she was the propeller blade.

The louder Prim screamed and laughed the more rambunctious Rey got, egged on by his niece's kicks and punches.

Katniss was growing increasingly uneasy with the overtly boisterous manner in which Rye was handling Prim. She looked around to figure out why wasn't anyone stopping them, and she realized that while Mrs. Mellark was nowhere to be found, Peeta was too busy welcoming Clove, who had just arrived, looking like a flipping J. Crew model on her tastefully fashionable denim skirt, white cotton button-up shirt and blue and white stripes linen jacket ensemble.

When the fiancée stood on tip-toes on her navy blue flats, to give Peeta a hello peck on the lips, the pixie felt her insides twist with an unsavory burning sensation in the pit of her stomach, but Prim squealed, making Katniss' head snap around to see how the corner of a low coffee table missed the girl's temple by an inch, effectively severing the strange emotion she had started to feel while watching Peeta and Clove kiss.

Katniss had had enough of the silliness. Balling up her fists, she stomped toward object of her distress, and squaring her shoulders, she took a big gulp of air into her mouth, "Rye, can you put her down, please?" She asked firmly.

"What's that, miss K?" He called out while in the middle of a peel of laughter.

Straitening up to her full hight, she demanded with a haughty voice, "I want you to put Primrose down," she said, and preening up, she added, "Right now."

"As you wish, Highness!" Rye put the girl on her feet but without letting go of her shoulders, twirled her around.

Prim stumbled, laughing, almost falling face first into the same coffee table from earlier.

"Rye! Stop right this second! Your games are too rough!" Katniss cried out loudly, a huge scowl taking over her whole face.

"Fine!" Rye said merely pushing Prim into the couch behind the coffee table, where she landed on her bottom still laughing and hardly breathing, but as he pushed his niece with one hand, he threw out the other one and grabbed Katniss' wrist.

The princess of the pixies made a surprised little squeaking sound, as Rye pulled her to him, holding her by the waist instead. "I'll play rough with you then, m'lady. That'll teach you to mess with my uncle and niece time, you high and mighty Katniss of the Trees, or whatever your name is!"

She had no time to protest; he was spinning her around very much like a top, then he threw her over his shoulder like she weighted next to nothing, just as she finally found her voice and started screaming in a panic.

"RYE! Let go me! RYEEEE!"

"No! You ruined my fun. Now you have to pay!"

"You're going to regret this! Put me down at once!" She kicked and screamed, as he dropped unceremoniously on the carpeted floor by the fireplace of Bill's home, and proceeded to tickled her until she could not breathe.

"S-to-op..." She gasped laboriously, but Rye did not stop.

"Some-body... p-le-ase... hel-p-me..."

And then, just like that, Rye's shadow hovering above her, was yanked away.

"What the fuck man? Leave her the fuck alone!" Hissed the familiar manly voice of Peeta, followed by a screechy one right after.

"Peeta Joshua Mellark! That language is uncalled for in the presence of your child!" Mrs. Mellark cawed angrily from somewhere in the background.

"We were just playing, man! You don't have to be so territorial!" Said Rye with a huff above their mother's calls.

Katniss finally won back her bearings, and slowly sat up.

Peeta bit back, "Did she seemed like she was playing, Rye?" He kneeled by Katniss, "She's fucking crying!"

"PEETA! Language!"

Peeta placed a warm, helping hand on the small of Katniss' back, and offered her his free one for support before pulling her up gently. He walked her to the couch and made her sit down next to Prim.

Gingerly, the pixie touched the tip of her fingers to under her eyes, where indeed, the skin was wet. It was the very first time she'd shed actual tears. She was fascinated by the phenomenon, but she caught herself before she could do or say something to show her excitement over it. Humans shed tears quite often and for various reasons; it would look suspiciously out of place for someone to gush about the ability to cry. Plus, she was a little confused by the reasoning behind the tears, and she needed to talk about it with Peeta, in order to understand it.

Peeta always knew what to say. He was clever.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asked softly, letting go of her.

"Yes. Quite fine, thank you. I'm sorry if I scared anyone. I think... I'm  
not too fond of the tickles." She said sheepishly.

"Well, now we know. Isn't that right, Rye?" The last part was spoken in an accusing tone followed by a dirty glare for good measure.

"Whatever!" Rye said from the chair he currently occupied, rubbing himself on the shoulder. "By the way, you'll have to cover my shift if my shoulder gets stiff in the morning!" He tossed at him returning the glare.

"Boys! Dinner!" Shouted Bill from outside, where he was flipping burgers and hot dogs on the grill.

"Wash you hands, won't you?" Said Katniss to Prim who gave her small, nervous nod.

As they both stood to go wash up, Katniss caught sight of Clove, who was staring daggers at her in a way she couldn't quite decipher. All the same, with a guiding hand placed at Prim's nape, much like a momma cat holds her kitten, Katniss steered the girl to the bathroom before joining the rest of the party already sitting at the large patio set, on Bill and Lavinia's backyard deck.

Prim leaped into the chair next to her dad with Katniss following. She was about to lower herself on the chair on at the other side of Peeta, when someone cleared their throat loudly, mere inches behind her. Clove stood tapping a foot impatiently, eyes narrowed and lips pursed, holding two beer cans in her hands.

Understanding the societal faux pas she was about to commit, Katniss shuffled wordlessly to the other side of the table, sitting between a very overheated looking Lavinia fanning herself with a napkin and a yawning Rye. Lavinia's pregnant belly seemed to have grown at least ten inches since they left, the previous week, and the mother-to-be looked quite uncomfortable.

Peeta looked uncomfortable too, but for other reasons, it was a wonder no one else took notice, Katniss thought, but soon she was showering the pregnant woman with attention, trying to distract herself from the man across from her. She couldn't allow Peeta to monopolize her time and consideration; there were other people around that needed her care, even if she felt the pull to care for him stronger every passing day.

The meal passed amiably, with everyone enjoying the delicious meal Bill and Lavinia had put together, drinking beer and Coke products by the gallon, and eating pounds upon pounds of burgers and hot dogs as soon as they touched the table.

Katniss and Lavinia were having a lovely time in a mostly silent sign language conversation. They talked long about the baby, Lavinia's increasing exhaustion, their failed attempts at nursery decoration, and wether or not Katniss could hear the baby's thoughts.

But a most curious thing kept happening from the other side of the table. Katniss kept trying to filter and block the waves upon weaves of nasty feelings she was sensing emanating from Peeta and Clove.

When the feelings were particularly difficult to keep at bay, she'd lift her eyes to them, only to see either his or hers, or both their eyes flit away when she caught them. Peeta's feelings were particularly acute every time she and Rye started a conversation between themselves, if she talked to Lavinia instead, Peeta would calm down, but with Clove it was a constant wave, dulling out for short intervals of time. More often than not, the brunette would be either staring daggers at Katniss or glancing between Peeta and her barely finished meal. There was little to no conversation on the soon-to-be married couple during supper.

" _ **Alright, what's with the witch and the staring?**_ " asked Lavinia tapping Katniss' shoulder to get her attention. " _ **She looks about ready to splash her drink all over your nice little outfit** ,_"

Unfortunately, the whole table, except for Peeta who was busy avoiding looking at anything but his food, and Clove who knew nothing about sign language, had read Lavinia's comments, causing different reactions all around: Prim snickered, Rye choked on his beer before coughing a big laugh, Mrs. Mellark rolled her eyes shaking her head disapprovingly, and Bill only let out a low, huffing warning, "Vinia..."

" _ **What**_?" she whipped around to face him instead, signing so fast it was almost impossible to follow everything she was saying... " _ **my house... get to say whatever the hell I want... being very rude! Plus I'm pregnant! So I doubly get to say whatever... well like to!**_ "

"Do you think my outfit is nice?" Exclaimed Katniss hopefully, looking between her simple red sundress with matching sandals and Lavinia's scowling face.

" _ **Of course I do! You look very cute!**_ " she signed frowning, realizing there was real vulnerability hidden in the question.

"I agree with Vin-vin!" Piped up Rye, "Red is your color, miss K!" He said smiling broadly, winning a shy smile from the pixie.

"Thank you" she said, emphasizing her signs.

Lavinia nodded, then turned to her husband " _ **Lets go get another jar of pickles, the one you opened earlier is already gone, I need dessert!**_ " She stood up beckoning Bill to do as she did.

"How are pickles dessert?" Asked Prim dumbfounded and wide eyed as Lavinia waddled into the house annoyedly, followed by a taciturn Bill.

"is that what she said?" Asked a mildly interested Clove, flipping her dark loose hair over her shoulder, "Pregnant women eat disgusting things, kid. Pickles are probably a topping to something sweet she's about to fetch from the kitchen," said Clove wrinkling her nose in disgust. "It's the reason pregnant women get so overweight too, no control over when and what they eat. Is like they let the fetus control them like tiny puppeteers. Ugh. It will never be my case, I can assure you." She said flicking her professionally manicured nails with an air of superiority.

Mrs. Mellark's face turned a shade of angry Peeta had no idea of how to wrangle and keep under covers, but right as the matron was opening her mouth to lash out at his fiancee's passive aggressive comments, the pixie lunged herself forward an inch or two into the table.

"Aww, how lovely! Are you hoping to have babies right away?" Asked Katniss with genuine excitement.

Clove made a snorting sound, "Well, seeing as I'm nearly thirty seven, that's a given. I wouldn't say I'm terribly excited by the prospect, but if I'm to have children, I guess the sooner the safer. I've heard so many horror stories about pregnancy, though, it makes my skin crawl." She cringed rubbing her hands over her arms with a shudder.

"Um... Daddy, are you and Clove having a..." Prim gasped, unable to finish the question.

"No sweetheart. Not right away! I... I promise. In fact, Clove and I haven't even spoken about the topic yet," he glared at Clove as he said the words, Clove glared back, "But, I swear, you'll be the first to know if we decide to have babies, okay? It'll be a family decision,"

Clove scoffed incredulously, folding her arms over her chest, "Excuse me," she said condescendingly, "I believe that's a husband and wife decision. Is not a democracy for everyone to cast a vote!" She snapped not even caring about their present company.

"Clove... Not now," Peeta hissed warningly, "But for your information, having children _is_ a family decision, specially since you'll be marrying into _my already_ stablished family, and Prim and I _do_ exercise a democracy based family government!"

A democracy was reaching. Peeta and Prim had a chaotic system of semi dictatorship with a long laundry list of compromises born from immature tantrums and the unasked opinions of outsiders, but he wasn't about to tell her that, specially in their current situation.

"I think we have _very_ different views on the matter..." Clove started importantly, but he cut her off.

"Which we need to discuss, just not here!" Peeta gritted through clenched teeth.

"Fine! There are things I'll like to discuss as well... as your future wife!" She said harshly.

"Alrighty then!" Rye sprung from his chair when it was obvious the row was going to continue. "Mom, Prim, miss K... I think we should go get vanilla ice cream and pickles inside with Vinia and Billy. Peet... Er... we'll save you and future sis some, okay bud?" Said Rye pushing the women toward the door, just as Bill was coming out with a pie dish and an unopened jar of pickle spears.

"Nope. Back inside big bro, baby bro has a situation to handle," said Rye shaking his head and nudging his brother back inside, who then had to grab his wife's arm and turned her around as she was trying to strut outside carrying a bowl of freshly made whipped cream she was eyeing longingly.

"I'm sorry if I was the cause of Peeta and Clove's... _disagreement_." Mumbled Katniss embarrassedly once inside and taking a seat at the breakfast nook.

"It is certainly not your fault, dear!" announced Mrs. Mellark, sighing, "Its evident those two have very poor communication skills between them. I have hoped Peeta would follow his older brother's example, and not his father's and mine. My late husband and I didn't have the healthiest of relationships, I must admit. At least not like Bill and Lavinia do. When it comes to marriage, mine is not what I'd ever would like my children to emulate. But alas, Peeta is his father's son! My poor boy." Lamented Mrs. Mellark with a shake of her head.

Her family stared in astonishment, but she ignored them all, "Serve dessert in the kitchen, Bill." She ordered shattering the bubble of incredulity enveloping the rest of the party. It had been nice to see her softer side for a change, it was too much to expect the change to stick, but maybe... maybe there was hope for Mrs. Mellark yet! "No sense in undoing all the hard work Lavinia has put into cleaning her little house. Go on. I'll join after I wash my hands,"

Everyone released their breaths collectively as the woman marched deeper into the house. Rye gave voice to the thing everyone was thinking.

"What's with mom? What did we just witnessed? Did an alien invasion come and took over our mother?"

"If that's the case... I'm gonna bake them a welcome to Earth cake," said Billy quietly.

" _ **No kidding** ,"_

"Did grandma just called Katniss... Dear?" Asked Prim straining her neck to look at her grandmother's retrieving form.

"Yeah... She also complement Lavinia's cleaning skills!"

"And y'all's marriage!"

"Trippy!"

"Groovy,"

"Out of sight,"

Lavinia rolled her eyes, " ** _Come on guys, I need to go get me a shot of hot sauce mixed with chocolate milk, since I can't drink alcohol,_** "

They all fell into step with the waddling red head, still scratching their heads at the odd behavior of their mom.

"It's a good thing she expressed concern for Peeta, don't you think?" Katniss asked hopefully.

"Dunno. We'll find out soon enough, I guess," said Bill slicing and plating key lime pie portions for everyone.

 

* * *

 

Peeta jogged into the house, Lavinia was just shutting the dishwasher door when he came to a stop in the kitchen.

He signed her a quick " ** _Where is everybody?"_**

" _ **Den**_ ," she answered.

" _ **Thank you. Are you heading to bed**_?" He asked when she rubbed her lower back with both hands looking tired.

She nodded.

He leaned in and kissed her cheek, "Nighty-night then. See you tomorrow." Then bending lower, he spoke into her belly, "Now you be nice to your momma, little rascal! Can't wait to meet you!"

Lavinia chuckled, " _ **Neither can I**_ ,"

In the den Peeta found his family except for his mother, who apparently was using the restroom; but upon arriving, his whole body tensed up, making Katniss stiffened as well, alerting everyone of his presence.

The picture that met Peeta wasn't unusual: Either if his brothers sharing a storybook with their niece as they sat in the Loveseat, except, this time Katniss was sandwiched between Prim and Rye in the two people couch, where she was practically leaning on Rye's chest, while Prim half sat, half lay across both Katniss and Rye's laps.

Peeta saw red.

He didn't understand how the mere image of Katniss cozying up with Rye- _any_ guy for that matter- could triggered the desire to strangle everyone in the room as if he was some kind of mutt, instead of himself.

He closed his eyes for a second, took a deep breath to reel himself in. It wasn't his place to be jealous; Katniss wasn't doing anything wrong per day, but he really hated seeing his brother so close and snuggly with _the love of his life!_

He gasped audibly, yanking his eyes open at the thought.

A fear older than time itself, took root deep in his chest making him cough uncontrollably. Taking in the concerned expression in Katniss' eyes as she stared at him expectantly, ready to jump in his aid, made him feel the urge to vomit. The air was suddenly sucked out of his lungs, as if he had been punched in the mouth of the stomach.

He had to run.

Fast!

"Um... Imma head out. Will you or mom take the girls home?" Peeta rasped on a dry throat.

"Yeah, sure. I'll drive them there after we find out if the Pevensie siblings ever figured out what was wrong with that wardrobe!" Rye winked oblivious to his brother's plight.

"'Kay! Cool. See you. Bye!" Peeta rushed backwards, almost tripping on his heels, and then he was gone.

"O-key dokey, ladies, where were we, now? Ah! Here we go..." with a flourish, Rye read on...  

 

>    
>  "'Meanwhile,' said Mr Tumnus, 'it is winter in Narnia, and has been for ever so long, and we shall both catch a cold if we stand here talking in the snow. Daughter of Eve from the far land of Spare Oom where eternal summer reigns around the bright city of War Drobe, how would it be if you came and had tea with me?"

 

* * *

 

Prim and Katniss had been excitedly chatting about Aslan and how cool it would be to meet him in person.

Katniss decided it would be a great idea to go see lions at the zoo, and promptly started to look into Central Park Zoo. The two spent the whole ride home making a tentative schedule for the outing, although Prim kept trying to persuade her friend from visiting Central Park, citing how incredibly busy the place would be since it was basically the only green strip of land in New York City, and a well known touristic point, but Katniss was hell bent on beating her fears of being out and about, surrounded by strangers with the barrage of emotions and problems they carry around with them intoxicating her pixie senses.

Katniss reasoned, it couldn't be anymore overwhelming than being at the crowded airport, and being surrounded by animals would only improve her ability to block away the humans.

They wished Rye a good night as they hopped out of his car, right after they gave their word, they'll call him if Prim succeed in her plans of dragging her dad to Waffle House for breakfast. Nothing like a good, greasy plate of smothered, scattered and covered hash-browns to begin the day southern style.

Explaining Waffle House to Katniss, led to Prim animatedly tell the impressionable pixie about the Krispy Kreme store two towns over, with the huge windows where patrons could watch how their donuts came to be, from dough to plate, on the automate system. The both of them could feel the warm, gooey sugar melt in their mouths as Prim described them with painstaking detail.

They were laughing merrily, making plans to go pick up some donuts the next day, when Katniss felt a jolt of desperation run through her body, pooling with a sensation of hollowness between her thighs. The feeling scared her for a moment, catching her by surprise, but then she sense more than heard the faint, unmistakable rush of endorphins by humans mating, and immediately an all consuming anger, a feeling of deep betrayal and hurt, took over her. Inexplicably. Unmistakably.

For a pixie who wasn't used to being bombarded with feelings and emotions so drastically different, in such quick succession, it took her a second too long to realized Prim had broken away from her side, oblivious to the events going on inside the house, and had thrown the door opened walking in without a care in the world.

Katniss didn't expect to get another eyeful any time soon, but there they were: Peeta and Clove. On the living room couch. Clove's backside in all her glorious nakedness was to the door, as she bounced on Peeta's lap with blissful abandon. Peeta sat under her, teeth bitting his lower lip hard and eyes screwed shut tightly, his fingers digging into his partner's bare hips.

Katniss was glad her reflexes worked top notch even in human form, without even thinking, she had managed to freeze time for a few seconds, as sounds of the sexual encountered reached her pixie ears, just a millisecond before Prim set foot into the house. Unfortunately, she was loosing her grip on time, everything was starting to move in very slow motion. She had enough time to wrap her wings around the girl, to shield her completely from what the adults were doing, and held her breath for just a fraction of a second while she thought her options over.

She peeked out, above the edge of her cocoon, realizing with relief, the couple's torsos were still clothed for the most part, the problem was, there was no mistaking what was going on between them. She felt renewed anger boil her insides, but she forced herself to focus on getting Prim out of there. She could feel the magic strain, running out too fast.

Peeta's eyes opened slowly, as time started to move and break out Katniss' control. His expressions where slowly morphing from bliss to horror, as his eyes caught sight of bright Luna moth wings under the threshold of his house. The pixie could tell gears were already shifting in his brain, also Clove seemed to finally be aware that the door had open behind her, but her movements were slow and delayed.

Knowing she only had a second or two to hide her wings before time was once more running freely at its own pace, the pixie quickly covered Prim's eyes with one hand, while the other crushed her head to her breast, covering her ears, much like she had done while trying to shield Prim from listening to Peeta and Madge's argument earlier that week. With a quick glance, Katniss calculated the distance between them and the staircase leading upstairs to Prim's bedroom, and managed to hop closer to the bottom of the stairs before time ran out of her control, and everything went back to normal.

She was just in time to make her brightly lit wings fade from sight and put one foot on the first step of the stairs when time returned to normal. Then a cacophony of sounds littered the room: a moan cut mid way, followed by an aggravated huff, and a protesting yelp, while another layer of noises from Peeta heaving and zipping up, served for background.

He hissed a breathless "Katniss... What the f..."

But Katniss was already running up the stairs, dragging Prim with her, and before Peeta could finish his curse, the bang of Prim's bedroom door rang through out the house, shaking the walls and floors with the force with which it had been slammed shut.

 

* * *

 

Having heard his heavy steps on the stairs, Katniss threw the bedroom door open before Peeta had a chance to knock on it, she scowled in welcome as his fisted knuckles were poised to rap on the solid wood.

He lowered his fist with a start, suddenly finding himself face to face with a pair of flaming gray eyes that made him weak in the knees. He had to repress a shudder, and was about to opened his mouth to speak, when she stomped past him, arms crossed over her chest, bumping his bicep with her shoulder as hard as she could.

"Kitchen," she commanded, "She's asleep for now, you can talk to her tomorrow." the pixie said flatly, floating down the stairs while her wings fluttered lazily behind her.

"How did Prim fall asleep with Clove's rant?" He asked both surprised and uncomfortable, his hands wouldn't stop the incessantly nervous fiddling as he trailed after Katniss.

The truth was, he didn't know how to feel about the whole thing. He was ashamed, angry, frustrated, remorseful, and very guilty for multiple reasons. He had no idea how much had Prim seen, he had no idea what mess was awaiting him in the morning, or how much damaged he had caused to his tween daughter by being a moron, selfish, cock-driven shmuck.

What did Prim think of him now? That was what he was mostly afraid of: Prim.

Clove had been very angry, after their amorous romp was interrupted and Peeta all but tossed her from his lap as if she was an old blanket. Things got even worse when Peeta asked her to leave without an ounce of regret, so he could go talk to his daughter about what she had just walked in on; Clove thought it was high time she stayed and participated in the child-rearing part of their deal, but Peeta was adamant she left so he could do damage control. She finally left cussing up and down their lack of privacy and the fact that Peeta wouldn't let her be part of the talk, even though she was to become Prim's step mother in few short weeks.

Peeta did all he could to keep himself from exploding, breaking up the engagement right then and there. He had given Clove his word, he'd marry her. The reasons felt flimsy and shallow in recent times, but he would not go back on his promise. 

Katniss broke him from his meandering thoughts.

"I made her wear headphones." She explain simply. "Then I blocked all sounds coming from outside, and combed her hair. She's was already very tired from our trip," the Pixie shrugged coming to a stop in front of the stove, "It really wasn't too hard to convince her to go to sleep."

She filled the kettle with water and set it on the burner to boil. "She didn't see much, by the way, but she's aware of what you were doing. She didn't ask me any questions, which troubled me at first, but then I realized I'm not the one Prim needs to speak to about all this." she said placing two mugs on the counter harder than she intended. In and angrier tone, she said, "But, I will say this: I don't appreciate your fiancée referring to Prim as an inconvenience. My Primrose was the one put in distressing position. She is the child, not you or Clove. You are the ones who should've known better!" She was positivily heaving with barely contained anger.

"But I'm being rude," she said in a saccharine tone, "Did you two have a good fuck?"

"No, we didn't, thanks to you!" The meaning of his snappy answer running deeper than implied. "You could've call or texted letting us know you were on your way!" He accused.

"Oh no, you will not blame this mess on me, mister! You should have been expecting us, since you clearly told Rye to drive us home. You only have yourselves to blame for going at it in the most inappropriate place possible in the house! I hope this serves you as a lesson!"

"Oh that's rich, Miss Perfect! Or wait... should I call you _Miss K?_ " He sneered mocking Rye's new nickname for her, "Do you know what _I_ don't appreciate? Is you walking in on me while I'm being intimate with my fiancée!"

"You, sir, have a perfectly good bedroom with a working door lock, in which to do as your heart's desires... I don't appreciate walking in on you with a twelve year old to find her father in such a deplorable position!" Her voice rose, and he answered in kind.

"But it's alright to practically sit on my brother's lap, giving his eyes access to your cleavage?" He yelled crazed with anger.

"I did not!" She countered indignantly. "And even if that was the case, which isn't, at least Rye likes Prim! he's also not a devastatingly wrong choice for marriage!"

"And Clove is?" He screeched with a mirthless chuckle. "You're a piece of work, Everdeen!"

"If she can't treat your daughter with respect and consideration, then yes, she's absolutely wrong for you!"

"Well, she's the only choice I have!"

"That is not true, and I cannot fathom you actually believe that! You could chose to stay alone you know, it would infinitely better than the alternative. A person doesn't necessarily need a spouse  to have a full life, specially if there isn't any love between them!"

"And how are you so sure there's no love between me and my fiancée, you're Highness? Have you ever love someone?"

"I have! I do! I've loved _you_ ever since we were young!"

They fell silent, both their eyes locked into one another, wide in shock as the inmplications, the immensity and meaning of what she had just said settled in between the two, like ten ton anvil. His eyes filled with torture, and devastation, and hunger. So much hunger.

In the blink of an eye, his hand had shot forward to encase her cheek and jaw into his big, calloused palm; he pulled her to him in one swift motion, and then his lips crashed against hers, rough and desperately. His free arm slid slowly around her tiny waist pressing her lithe body to his warm one, as both their eyes fluttered shut, in contentment.

She was a quick study, learning from him how to move her lips and tongue against his. Learning to nip, lick and suck hungrily on the tender flesh, and yielding control and will to him. Her hands had grown minds of their own, threading themselves into his messy curls or sliding up and down his chest seeking the beat of his frantic heart, while their kiss deepened and slowed down minutely.

He let go of her face, to lift her up from the floor. On instinct, she wrapped her legs around his hips, as he leaned them onto the kitchen counter. His hand returned to her face promptly; he let his fingers caress her hair, shoulder, shoulder blade... the side of his hand collided with something soft but firm, and then the barrier was gone. He smoothed his hand up and then back down, finding the same obstacle once more, to have it disapear at contact; dazedly curious, he opened his eyes, wondering what exactly was keeping his hand from exploring her slim back as he wanted.

The kettle went off loudly, steam flying everywhere from its spout, and the combination of noise and steam, added to the horrifying sight of her wings flickering on and off, solid and then gone.

With horror he saw one of her wing's edge started to be shrivel, like a dry leaf burning in fire. The sight was enough to make him tear himself away from her in an all consuming panic.

"No!" He cried out in anguish, his eyes bulging out of their sockets in terror.

The shrill cry of the kettle still ringing loudly around them, heightened the foreboding sensation of doom and tragedy.

Quickly, he took a kitchen towel from the handle of the oven door, and propelled himself back to her.

His hands shook as he tried to blot her wings clean from inexistent dirt. He heard years earlier, that butterfly wings could get damaged if they got wet, the poor fellows could die with shriveled up wings that would keep them grounded at the mercy of natural predators. He wasn't sure if that was true or not, and he wasn't sure what was wrong with Katniss' wings, but as hell as if he was going to let them fall off on his watch.

"Peeta? What are you... What's going on? You're scaring me..." She whined softly, trying not to move to assist as much as she could the erratic motion of his trembling hands on her still fading and coming back wings.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I won't do it again! I swear, I'll never kiss you again! I'm sorry Katniss, I really am!"

"Peeta... What's wrong?" She begged.

"I won't let you loose your magic... I won't!" He suddenly stopped. Grabbing her face harshly into both his hands. They were staring at each other, he demanded firmly, "You will never again say that you love me. You can _not_ love me. I'm not worth your magic nor your life as a Pixie. You can never love me that way... understood?" When she didn't say anything, he grew desperate, "Say it Katniss, you will never fall in love with a human, not me, not anyone!" He yelled into her face.

"Peeta," she breathed out slowly, tears bathing her cheeks, her finger tips lightly touching the top of his hands.

"Promise!" He screamed between sobs, making her shrink back on herself.

She nodded, face splotchy and messy with tears and snot, she choked on her own words as she tried to say what wanted to hear from her. 

"I will rather marry Clove, than kill you with a kiss. You are never to love me. Don't you dare go dying for me, you won't be doing me any favors," he said harshly, lowly.

He ripped himself away from her, pushed the kettle out of the flames finally ending the shrill whistle, and then he has marching out of the kitchen, cellular phone pulled out of his pants pocket and brought to his ear...

"Haymitch? Yeah, Peeta Mellark here... We have a situation..."

Katniss winced when the door to his bedroom slammed shut with a loud bang. 

Gingerly she touched one finger to her cheek, collecting wetness. Her tongue met her digit, tasting the salty secretion her human body had produced. For the second time on a single day, she had shed tears, but unlike the first time, this ones didn't excite her. They felt bitter and lonely, and shoulders sagged. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh-wee! Talk about Slow Burn!!!! It took a whole year for Everlark's first lip lock! Sorry it ended in angst, but hey... It's the Hunger Games! There's still a lot to come, and things will work out in the end, pink swear!
> 
> I apologize to Shellibug for sneaking this chapter this way, I hope you liked it... Thank you for all you do for this story! I wanted to surprise you!
> 
> >>—————>
> 
>  **In case you didn't know:** because I'm pretty sure everyone knows or has heard of this trivia facts... 
> 
> The Penvensie siblings, Mr. Tumnus and Aslan are all characters of the Chronicles of Narnia, a beloved literature classic-supposedly for children- but that's still one of my favorites to this day.
> 
> *Paragraph read by Rye in this chapter is taken from C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" first published book of The Chronicles Of Narnia, although it's actually the second story in the chronology... Lewis wrote his saga out of order, later on tracing a chronological order to the books. Most of them could stand alone, although there's always some cameo or backstory happening in each one, so it's nice to have read them all, and Aslan the Lion is the absolute recurring character in the whole Heptology. 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' first published in 1950, in is arguably the most popular of the books in the series, and it's one of the books with most copies per one author held in public libraries.
> 
>  
> 
>  **Waffle House and Krispy Kreme** are largely recognizable breakfast eateries. Both based in the South of the U.S of A, Waffle House, as you'd might guessed it serves waffles (lol) along other entrees in the greasy delicious menu, the charm of the place comes from its open kitchen layout, where you can see how your meal is prepared from any corner of the restaurant. It's opened 24/7 and they serve the best Vanilla Coke you'll ever have. 
> 
> Krispy Kreme, is a donut producing company. It has few actual stores were you can go have coffee and see how your pastry travels on a machine from being a piece of dough, to being cut into its donut shape, bathed into extremely hot oil, and then showered on gooey glaze, serve on your plate by a helpful waiter and ready for your enjoyment pipping hot from the "kitchen", if you are not lucky enough to have one of them Krispy Kreme stores near you, it's ok, since you can buy the donuts by the box at your local Walmart.

**Author's Note:**

> Pixies: are mythical creatures of folklore, believed to come from Celtic origin. Now a days pixies are depicted with pointed ears, often wearing green outfits although traditional stories describe them wearing dirty ragged bundles of rags which they happily discard for gifts of new clothes, with skin often described as being blue or tattooed blue. Pixies don't usually possess wings, but in this story some do. They seem to be particularly fond of the areas around the high moorland (Devon and Cornwall, England) and are believed to inhabit ancient underground ancestor sites (this is to say: ancient grave sites) such as stone circles, barrows, dolmens, ringforts or menhirs.
> 
> I chose a menhir as their home because they look cool to me. A Menhir is a large upright standing stone that may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of stones (Example: Stonehenge) They come in different heights and sizes, but their shape is generally uneven and squared, they can be found all over Europe. 
> 
> Pixies are said to be generally helpful to normal humans, sometimes help needy widows with housework or disguised themselves as bundles of rags to entertain children in their games. However, pixies aren't completely benign, they have a reputation for misleading travellers (being "pixy-led" is a phrase to explained ones disorientation, the remedy for this is to turn your coat inside out). 
> 
> Pixies and Fairies are not the same creature, although in modern times their therms have become interchangeable. Pixies get offended if you confused them with Fairies! 
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> Why did I start this story? 
> 
> My son, who suffered from a very mild disability starts Pre-K in less than a week. Since he was born he has never been away from me for longer than a few couple of hours. So I have been stressed out about that particular issue. The problem is exacerbated with how incredibly awful the school system in our county is, my son is supposed to receive certain services from the school and as of yet it has been an aggravating nightmare getting in touch with the school/education department overseeing this transition. He is not going into a special need class, so it is the more important for me to know who all is involved on my child's education, but I'm throughly frustrated with the whole process, 'cause no one knows what they're doing or who is doing what. So, we decided to move to a different county. 
> 
> We have been saving like crazy the past six months, my husband has been hoarding money like he was a chipmunk getting ready for winter, and we started the incredibly scary process of house hunting... The hunting was easy, we found a place we love, but long story short, after a while, this is the third offer we make on the place and finally the seller is willing to negotiate, the problem is that Friday night... Or is it Saturday in the wee hours of morning... Someone got hold of my husband's debit card number... We have no idea how... But thank God for the bank's anti theft credit prevention thing, they caught the suspicious activity on our account and all our savings, literally our "Egg Nest", were spared. Our cards got blocked right away, so we were virtually penniless the whole weekend, which was doubly inconvenient as it was our State's Tax Free Holiday, not that we have the actual shopping list for our son's school supplies, but we were supposed to buy his uniform (because he does have an uniform).
> 
> So, that's my overly long excused as to why I needed to write fanfic... And yes, it made me feel better, thank you! I hope you enjoyed it. And pardon all the mistakes, this has not been looked at by a beta or pre-read by anyone, as I just needed to vent, I might have also said before, but English is not my first language although now a days I used it more than my birth Spanish. The story won't be incredibly long and I already have a good chunk written, but this is definitely a multichapter, and I'm not sure how often I'll update it. Note the work is not rated as of yet, because I have absolutely no idea if this will actually turn smutty or stay innocent... I can go either way, but if you are familiar with my other stories, this might get heated in later chapters. As always, Everlark is endgame.


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